Grace Parker
Students board the Cosmopolitan party bus back to campus after casting their votes at Freedom Temple Church on Nov. 4, 2014. The buses were filled with lights and loud music to provide entertainment for students while on their way to the polls.
In the upcoming general election, NC State will have an on-campus voting site at the Creative Services Center at 1220 Varsity Drive. The Wake County Board of Elections approved the site, among others, at a public meeting on June 30.
“I’m really happy that the Board of Elections decided to put a polling place at NC State,” said Sean Harrington, chairman of NC State College Republicans and a junior studying political science. “All in all, it was a really good move. It was a step in the right direction for sure.”
At the meeting, members of the community advocated for their preferred polling locations and voiced concerns about issues they’ve seen in previous elections.
Parking and transportation were among the most discussed issues.
“I hold this up because I’m handicapped and I had to drive around so long this afternoon trying to find a place to park,” said Wake County NAACP President Portia Rochelle, while holding a parking receipt. “And this parking lot over here is a rip-off. I know it’s not your problem, but this is what we run into when we have to pay to park. We do consider that a poll tax; we need to do something about that.”
NC State last had an on-campus polling place in 2012 at Talley Student Union, which hosted more than 16,000 voters. This year, the board opted for the Creative Services Center, citing Talley’s logistical concerns of parking for non-student voters and transportation difficulty for voting site staffers.
“In the last presidential election, Talley Student Center was successfully used as an early voting site, and it recently had over a $100 million reconstruction as a multipurpose site. Let’s use it,” said Gerry Cohen, former special registration commissioner and a Wake County voter. “It’s an ideal site for the 30,000 or so who are on campus — students, faculty and staff. If they have cars, they are already parked on campus. No parking needed. If they don’t have a car, they are likely in walking distance from Talley.”
However, the board debated whether NC State should have a polling location at all. Board member Brian Ratledge voiced instead for a location on Method Road, which is west of NC State’s campus.
“NC State voters aren’t the only voters in the county,” Ratledge said, explaining that polling places should serve the entire community, not just certain parts. “I remember what it was like as a college freshman and sophomore, to not have transportation. But I also know that college students are pretty creative, and if they want to get somewhere, then they can get somewhere.”
Kim Hoang, a UNC-Chapel Hill student studying maternal and child health, presented to the board a petition with 1,665 signatures supporting on-campus voting sites for large two-year and four-year colleges in North Carolina.
According to Luke Smith, president of NC State College Democrats and a senior studying mechanical engineering, students have a difficult time getting to off-campus polling sites.
“This primary is the first time I had ever been able to vote,” Smith said. “And on March 15, I was one of the lucky ones. I managed to get out of school a little bit early, and I arrived at Pullen Community Center at about 3 p.m., but I would not be able to cast my vote until 5 p.m. … Many [people I know] actually had to leave the lines to go back to class or go back to work.”
Board member Mark Ezzel argued for a voting location in Talley. He agreed, however, that the Creative Services Center would be a fair compromise.
“I think you’ll see that the turnout there is going to be very substantial,” Ezzel said. “Clearly from the public comment, the students have an interest in doing this and I think you’ll also find that a lot of the staff is going to be voting there. One of the things that I look for in a site is quality in providing opportunity for folks who may not have the opportunity to have the other options.”
The Technician reached out to Student Body President Paul Nolan, a senior studying materials science and engineering, for comment, but as of press time did not receive a response.
Aside from NC State’s campus, many community members advocated for a polling location at Chavis Community Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. which was approved by the board.
“[Chavis] has served as an ideal location and previous elections to citizens who live and work in the area,” Rochelle said. “And it’s an ideal site for local colleges. This location has free parking and unlimited parking, which encourages the countywide community to use this location.”
The board approved a total of 19 early-voting locations, plus the Board of Elections Office, which is legally required to be an early-voting site.
The Rev. Jenna Zirbel, the executive director of Rainbow Community Cares, was in favor of Chavis as well. She also commented on how the training of poll workers can affect citizens’ abilities to vote.
“Transgender and gender non-conforming folks need to be able to have a chance to vote, and sometimes poll workers don’t know how to work with transgender or gender non-conforming folks,” Zirbel said.
Early voting runs from Thursday, Oct. 27 to Saturday, Nov. 5. Voting locations and schedules are listed below.