It is reasonable to see both sides of a recent City Council debate about where to locate early-voting stations for this year’s municipal election. While some members contended that adding a site close to East Carolina University might help increase participation, especially among youth voters, others claimed the push for an on-campus location attempts to influence the results.

By the very nature of their location, voting sites hold some sway over voter turnout in that their proximity to a subset of the electorate encourages its participation over those farther from the site. That is why the outcome of this debate, which saw the council vote unanimously to choose a central location for a new polling place, would seem to be the reasonable conclusion.

Prompted by an inquiry by Pitt County Elections Director Dave Davis, the council on Monday took up debate over early-voting sites for the city elections in November. The nonpartisan vote will determine the six members of the council as well as who serves as mayor, so those intending to seek re-election — and all those who call this community home — have a stake in the outcome.

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