On the first day of early voting in North Carolina, more than 100 students from North Carolina A&T State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Bennett College left campus on foot. The nearest early voting site, at Union Square, was about 45 minutes away in 85-degree heat.
NC A&T is the largest historically Black college or university in the country. It had an early voting site on campus in 2024. This year it has none, and neither does UNCG. The Guilford County Board of Elections denied both in July. The Republican-controlled State Board of Elections later turned down a request for the A&T site, its second refusal, according to Democracy Docket.
Neither school has had an on-campus site in a midterm year, so the 2024 sites were the exception. For a student without a car, the difference is a round trip of an hour and a half on foot.
Part of the route had no usable sidewalk. WUNC reported that some stretches were missing or blocked by branches, which forced walkers into the street.
“We will come and make our voices clear, no matter how far you push a polling site off of our campus,” said Xavier Jones, a student organizer, on Oct. 15. State Sen. Gladys Robinson, House Minority Leader Robert Reives and state Supreme Court candidate Anita Earls spoke to the group.
A second march followed Thursday, Oct. 22. Hundreds of A&T students walked behind the Blue and Gold Marching Machine band, joined by Love Island USA winner Trinity Tatum and actress Marsai Martin, both with the voter group When We All Vote. Senior Takara Phillips called the relocated site “a smack in the face.” Sophomore Jimmie Holton said: “That walk, it was really long, and today it was hot. That is the reality for students on campus who come from lower income backgrounds.”
The marches grew out of a fight that began in the winter. Students at three universities, A&T, UNCG and Western Carolina, sued in January over the removal of campus sites. In February, U.S. District Judge William Osteen Jr. declined to order the sites opened for the March primary, finding that students had not shown a burden “severe” enough to change the rules days before early voting began. The suit is continuing.
Jeff Carmon, one of the two Democrats on the state board, questioned the votes. “Can we identify a single voter who is better served by having fewer opportunities to cast a ballot?” he asked. The same board also curtailed Sunday voting in several counties, a day popular with Black voters.
Early voting in North Carolina runs through Friday, Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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