The North Carolina statewide general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8, and the early voting period spans from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5. Voting as a college student can be confusing — some students may decide to stay registered at their non-college home address or register with an address here in Wake County.
Wake County Board of Elections member Gerry Cohen said this election is extremely significant.
“We are having very important elections November 8; we’re electing a U.S. senator statewide, 14 members of the House of Representatives, two seats on our state Supreme Court and all the way down through the general assembly and county commissioner,” Cohen said. “If you vote in Wake County, Raleigh is electing a mayor and city council.”
Cohen recommends voting early in person or by absentee ballot to ensure voting goes smoothly.
“It’s a bit harder to vote on Election Day, since at that point you’ll need to vote at the polling place assigned to your voting address,” Cohen said.
If you are registered to vote in Wake County, you are eligible to vote early at Talley Student Union between Oct. 20 and Nov. 5, including on the weekend. If you are not registered to vote yet, you are eligible to register and vote early on the same day at Talley Student Union.
“If you want to register on-site in Wake County, you need to show proof of your address,” Cohen said. “If you live on campus, you can go to your MyPack Portal, click on personal information, click on address, and at the bottom of that page will be your current housing address. You can either print that out or login while you’re in line to vote and show that information to the election official.”
According to Cohen, if you live off campus, you are able to use another form as proof of residence, such as a utility bill or a paycheck stub.
For students who chose to remain registered in their home county, voting early in person is still an option at a polling place in their respective counties. Cohen also suggested voting with an absentee ballot.
“Voting by mail is relatively easy,” Cohen said. “You can go to ncsbe.gov and apply online for an absentee ballot. If you apply through the portal, you should get a ballot in four to five days.”
Cohen advised returning the absentee ballot by Nov. 5 to allow ample time for processing.
To learn more about who’s on the ballot and candidate platforms, Wanya Ward, Pack the Polls’ Civic Engagement Initiatives graduate assistant, suggested the site vote411.org, which displays personalized candidate information based on your voting address.
“I like this website a lot because not only do they all answer the same questions, you can compare them between different candidates,” Ward said. “You can read both candidates to see their opinions and views on each topic and determine the best candidate for yourself.”
Ward encouraged students to be informed and understand what candidates stand for.
“I think that with the amount of races in this upcoming election, it’s really important to do that research and figure out what candidates are doing and what the actual positions themselves are,” Ward said.
Ward suggested checking getinvolved.ncsu.edu and service.dasa.ncsu.edu to learn about opportunities to get civically engaged.
“Being able to volunteer and get connected with different community partners around campus and the surrounding Raleigh area is one of the best ways to be civically engaged, beyond just voting,” Ward said.
