More than 500 students showed up to make use of the free busing Student Government provided in order to vote in the primaries on Tuesday.
“A lot of students approached Student Government, and they were concerned there wasn’t a polling location on campus,” said Logan Graham, a sophomore studying political science and a senator in Student Government who was in charge of the busing. “SG got together and passed an initiative to give students free transportation to the primaries. We are committed to get as many students to the polls as we can.”
Two buses ferried students back and forth between Talley Student Union and the Pullen Community Center polling location. Graham expressed enthusiasm that students showed up to use the buses and vote.
“Student Government is nonpartisan, and we want students to vote. We don’t care who you vote for,” Graham said. “We’ve had a great turnout. It’s been a lot better than anyone could hope for. We have had hundreds of students come take the bus to the polls and let their voice be heard. We even had news agencies come out earlier.”
Although students were able to go to the polling location by bus, some students such as Joe Barbour, a senior studying economics, chose to drive instead. Barbour said he was voting for Bernie Sanders.
“He’s authentic, doesn’t have a Super PAC, he’s been a strong proponent for civil rights for decades, he understands the full extent of the issue of money in politics,” Barbour said. “I fully support the policy of instituting tuition-free public college.”
Many students expressed support for Bernie Sanders. Some showed interest in Ted Cruz, such as Ryan Rea, a freshman studying geology.
“I am likely going to be voting for Ted Cruz,” Rea said. “My beliefs align more with him than with the others. I was looking at voting for Trump, but he is not professional enough to represent the United States. Straight talk is good, but you can’t just be all straight talk.”
Other students were still undecided and were in the process of figuring out whom to vote for.
“The main reason I am undecided this year is because there is something that I disagree with about every candidate, some more than others,” said Caroline LaFave, a senior studying environmental engineering. “It certainly has put me in a difficult position in as a voter. I am leaning toward independent — it’s what I am registered as, and it’s the party that scares me the least this time around.”
LaFave said she will be voting, but she will be doing some last-minute research before casting her ballot.
Other students, such as Zach Petitjean, a junior studying economics, switched parties altogether.
“Originally I wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders; however, I did not have the time to change from Republican to Democrat,” Petitjean said. “I think Rubio is more appealing than the other Republican candidates because he seems more honest.”
Although Rubio dropped out Tuesday night, it ended up not affecting Petitjean’s vote because he was able to switch parties and vote for Sanders at the polling location.
“I voted for Bernie Sanders because he wants to repeal the Citizens United ruling and because he wants to break up banks that were said to be ‘too big to fail,’” Petitjean said.
Some students also went to vote for the Senate primaries in addition to voting for the main presidential candidates.
“I voted for Jay Chaudhuri in the Democratic NC Senate,” said Carl Hintz, a sophomore studying anthropology and mathematics. “I voted for him because of his stance for supporting education.”
Read about the results of the North Carolina primary here.
Jay Chaudhuri, a Democratic candidate for N.C. Senate District 16, talks to voters March 15, 2016 as part of the N.C. General Primary. "Students play a huge role in shaping District 16," Chaudhuri said. "I've had some incredible conversations with students this afternoon."
