A crowd of Western Carolina University students marched to their new polling location over a mile away after the State Board of Elections denied them the opportunity to vote at a previously used early voting location on campus.
On February 13th, the students marched from their university to the new early voting location at the Jackson County Recreational Center. The students braved a 35-minute, 1.5-mile walk along a busy four-lane rural highway with no sidewalks to bring attention to the distance between students and the polls created by the Republican-controlled state board of elections.
Previously, students were able to cast their votes on campus at the University Center, an accessible location fixed between student dorms and classrooms. This location was established after a bipartisan push for a local voting location for students in 2016 and has since significantly increased the turnout of college students to the polls. However, the Republican majority on the Jackson County Board of Elections eliminated the accessible polling location and designated a new one over two miles away– the Jackson County Recreational Center.
Democrats on the Jackson County board voiced opposition to the idea of eliminating the university polling location. They explained that even though the recreational center isn’t far by car, 64% of WCU students don’t have cars, the campus shuttle does not go to the other location, and the path to walk there is a dangerous one: a busy highway with no sidewalks, no streetlamps, and no guardrails.
With the county board unable to agree on a plan, the final decision was left up to the State Board of Elections, which– like the Jackson County Board of Elections and all other 99 North Carolina county boards– operates with a 3-2 Republican majority. This is due to the Republican-led General Assembly passing a bill that gave the incoming Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek power over the state’s elections, a power usually reserved for the Governor. After being given this unique power, Boliek then flipped the state board and all 100 county boards to what we have now.
With their new power, Republicans on the State Board voted to remove early voting sites not just from WCU but also from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University– the largest historically black university in the country. The students, frustrated with the interruption and direct interference with their ability to vote, filed a lawsuit against the state board claiming this action violates their right to vote. However, a federal judge denied their request, stating that requiring the county boards to open the polling sites at these universities so close to the election could cause “confusion”.
Yet still the students refuse to give up on the pursuit of their rights. In addition to the WCU march and a similar march held by students at NC A&T, organizers said they remain committed to getting students out to vote and will help their fellow students how they can, including running a shuttle service to the new polling locations.
“Aggies do what is necessary for our rights, for our survival, and for our people,” said one student organizer.
