For the East Lansing City Council candidates, Tuesday's election can't come soon enough. They're making final pushes before voters cast their ballots.

"This is crunch time, no doubt," challenger John Fournier said. "There's a lot of anticipation, and that's probably the most overriding feeling. It's your last chance to speak with voters, so it's an important time."

The MSU College Democrats, a campus group that supports Fournier's campaign, is encouraging voters to participate in "plunking," a ploy in which voters, who have two votes to fill the two slots in the City Council, vote for one candidate and leave the second vote blank, Fournier said.

"The best way to get a student elected is to plunk for Fournier," Fournier said. "It's very common. Everybody's vote is up to them though."

Challenger Kevin Beard said plunking is "electoral jargon."

"You've got to leave it up to the voters and how strongly they feel about their candidate," Beard said. "I have not asked anybody to (plunk)."

Incumbent Bill Sharp said while he's making some last-minute phone calls to make sure people vote, he feels he's done all that he can in his campaign.

"I'm very confident," Sharp said. "I feel that I've done everything I can do and we just need to get people out there to vote. We'll play it by ear and see what happens."

Incumbent Vic Loomis said although he's prepared for the election, he's still working on his campaign.

"I've had excellent reception in the community and a lot of encouragement," Loomis said. "I'm looking forward to Tuesday. I've had a plan right from day one, and I've worked it and stuck to it almost to the letter, and I feel really good where things are."

The candidates all agree the key to success on election night is voter turnout.

"I just hope the community recognizes the importance of voting and gets out and votes," Loomis said. "That's really what it's all about. By the way, while they're voting, I hope they vote for that Loomis guy."

Loomis said it's important to keep his pre-election strategy a secret from his competition.

"We're in the last hours of the campaign, and I'm not going to disclose what I'm doing," he said. "It's all strategy."

Fournier said his experience in working with elections has him excited for the event.

"I've worked on so many campaigns that I've learned to look forward to Election Day, and I'm really looking forward to it," Fournier said. "Tuesday is going to be a very good day, let's put it that way. Everybody go vote."

Beard said the day before the election is a time for candidates to reflect on the work they've done.

"You think back about what you've done and what you could or should have done differently," he said.

"Ultimately it's like studying for an exam. You either know it or you don't. You are anxious, and you hope people turn out and vote and they vote for you."

Regardless of the election results, people who are interested in the issues will go and cast their vote, Sharp said.

"Those that are going to vote are going to vote," he said. "Let the chips fall where they may, and we'll see what happens. Wednesday morning the sun will come up."