Students waiting in line for the bus at the Lloyd Noble Center can vote for this week’s UOSA election online.

OU Information and Technology has installed a new wireless access point at the center’s bus stop, said OU IT spokesman Nicholas Key.

The access point, which was set up using equipment already owned by IT and OU Physical Plant, makes voting for the election easier for students, Key said.

“That’s a good example of how we’re using new technology to make voting more accessible and more convenient for students,” he said.

A directional antenna was set up on the roof of the Lloyd Noble Center, and a receiver was placed at the stop to make the area more accessible to OU’s wireless signal.

UOSA provided laptops for the location, said George Thomas, business analyst for IT, who helped develop the new technology.

Thomas said he thinks the new voting location could raise voter turnout because it targets commuter students who might not have voted before.

In the past, Thomas said voting locations for students were available when students got off the bus. But he said after most students departed, they walked to class without stopping to vote.

Thomas said there are four additional voting locations set up on campus. They are all covered by the OU WiFi network.

Key said IT, UOSA and Student Congress also have worked to revamp the voting system so it is streamlined for students.

Thomas said the new online system, which was first used during OU Homecoming 2007, enhances reliability and efficiency.

“We also rewrote it with usability in mind,” Thomas said.

He said the new online system lets student candidates upload their photographs and biographies.

Thomas said the main focus of the new technology is making it easier for students to vote.

“I wish they had been around when I was a student,” Thomas said of the technological features.