With the presidential election fast approaching, there has been a growing number of voter registration drives.

While the focus is on the how aspect of voting, some students and administrators at Saint Louis University have turned their attention to the where.

Last spring, during the primaries, College Democrats President Lauren Khouri was surprised to hear that Washington University in St. Louis had its own polling place on campus, while those who where registered to SLU addresses had to travel to an off-campus polling place to vote.

The polling place is located about a mile and a half away on Grand Boulevard and is sometimes crowded with long lines.

Dean of Students Scott Smith, Ph.D., took interest in the idea of an on-campus polling place when he became aware of the polling place at Wash. U.

According to Smith, the biggest challenge in bringing a polling place to campus was the need to stay non-partisan or the University could lose certain tax exemptions.

The final say over the establishment of polling places belonged to the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners. On Friday, Sept. 12, the board met with officials from SLU to survey the possibilities available.

Chris Grabau, the building manager of the Busch Student Center, said the BSC will serve as “polling place for students who are registered at the 20 N. Grand Blvd. address.”

Grabau indicated that there will be a registration drive in the coming weeks which will allow students to register under their SLU addresses.

Khouri hopes to encourage those who are voting absentee in their hometowns to register to vote in Missouri. On Facebook she created a group to draw attention to her movement: “HEAR MY VOICE!” SLU Students for Voter’s Rights. The group’s outlines advantages for registering to vote with a SLU address.?

“Missouri is a swing state. by voting [here], your contribution to the election carries increased importance,” Khouri writes. “You can be one of the few votes to push Missouri’s delegates towards a candidate.”

Khouri has already found help from the College Republicans and its president, Amy Kaufman.

Kaufman reiterates Khouri stance on Missouri’s electoral importance.

“Those who have the opportunity to vote in a battleground state should take it as opposed to absentee voting in states like Texas and Illinois that are already decided,” she said.

Last week’s College Republicans meeting saw 15 members register at their St. Louis address and a Democratic voter registration team, led by SLU alumnus Paul Sableman, registered about 60 people on Monday, Sept. 15, as they walked by the Grand Blvd. crosswalk on campus.