University of Georgia to allow football -- but not in-person voting -- this fall

(CNN) Student groups and state politicians are criticizing the University of Georgia for not allowing in-person voting on campus this fall.

Meanwhile, thousands of fans are expected to attend UGA's first home football game on October 3.

The university was unable to find a suitable location to host early voting on campus, according to an announcement Wednesday by the non-partisan student-run voter registration group UGAVotes. The group had hoped that in-person voting could occur at the university's large basketball arena to avoid long lines and crowded conditions, but the university did not believe it had the resources to clean the coliseum at night, according to Marshall Berton, a junior and UGAVotes' executive director.

In August, the university unveiled a plan to allow up to 23,000 fans to attend home football games , a detail critics have seized on in the wake of the on-campus voting decision.

"From the student perspective, it's definitely disappointing to see UGA prioritize football games, and just how long and hard they've been working to get those in the works and get to a good point where everyone is comfortable," said Juliet Eden, a senior and the communications director of Fair Fight UGA, a division of the voting rights group founded by former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. "It's hard to not see them fight just as hard to provide a safe environment for the on-campus early voting."