News outlets and pundits are monitoring early voting in the critical 2012 General Election, and Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the process.

Students of University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s campus also weigh in on these subjects, via a report from Leslie Cox of the Tennessee Journalist.

Political party preferences are often a sensitive subject, but students voting early in the University Center are offering insight on which candidate they are voting for.

Despite Tennessee being a Republican affiliated state, Ian Wise, a UT senior studying marketing, is voting for Obama.

“I voted for Barack Obama,” Wise said. “My family has always leaned toward Democrats. The fact that most of my peers are Republican does not really sway my opinion.”

Some students thought Hurricane Sandy’s destruction could give Obama an upper hand in the election.

“I definitely think that Hurricane Sandy can be a political opportunity for Obama,” Wise said. “If he handles it well, it could work in his favor. If he does not, then it could hinder his polls.”

President Obama has already canceled a campaign trip to Florida scheduled for this week in order to stay in Washington D.C. to advise hurricane relief efforts.

But some students, like junior Taylor Hathorn, do not think Hurricane Sandy will sway popular vote.

“Obama may use FEMA to raise money for disaster relief, but Romney also had a political rally and donated all the proceeds towards disaster relief,” Hathorn said.“Both parties may use the hurricane as an advantage on their platform, but I don’t think either will get a leg up on the other in the situation.”

Along with discussing political preference, students at the early vote center expressed their frustrations about the regulations on acceptable forms of identification for students.

“Faculty can use their UT ID alone but students can not,” Charlie Wilson, the election officer working the event, said. “Students must have a state issued ID.”

Faculty can use their UT ID because it is considered a state-issued form of identification, unlike the student issued UT ID.

“I don’t think [that] is fair,” Hathorn said. “I pay a ton of money to go here, so I should get the same rights as faculty.”

Anyone who is registered to vote in Knox County can take advantage of the early voting in the UC room 227 starting this Monday and continuing throughout the week. Voters can find nonpartisan information on both candidates on Vote411.org sponsored by the League of Women Voters.