In late 2025, the Guilford and Jackson County Boards of Elections approved non-unanimous early voting plans that did not include early voting sites on North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T), University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNC-G), and Western Carolina University. Months later in August 2026, anti-voter County Board members in Jackson, Guilford, and Pasquotank counties proposed similar plans to remove or exclude on-campus early voting locations in the fall.
The evidence shows that this is a deliberate, coordinated attack on young voters. During a Jackson County BOE meeting on the issue, it was revealed that the state auditor’s office pressured Board members to vote against the WCU site—staff from the State Auditor’s office went so far as to send text messages to Jackson Board members urging them to cut the on-campus site, imploring the Board Members, “don’t let them have a vote.”
Ultimately, the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved a plan to include an on-campus early voting site at Western North Carolina (WCU), but declined to approve early voting sites at NC A&T (the nation’s largest HBCU), UNC-G, and Elizabeth City State University.
Early voting locations are important for students, faculty and staff, and community members who work on or live around these campuses. They not only address barriers to voting faced by student voters, but provide a centralized place to vote for many community members in addition to the student body.
UNC Greensboro and NC A&T serve nearly 34,000 students combined, in addition to faculty, staff, and community members residing near campus. While it is certainly true that not all of these individuals are North Carolina or Guilford county voters, rejecting calls from the community to add on-campus early voting sites makes early voting substantially less accessible for what is a significant voting-eligible population in the county.
College-aged people are some of the least likely to own a car, and many do not have driver’s licenses at all. In 2023, for example, only 60% of 18-year-olds had a driver’s license compared to nearly 90% of those over 35. Particularly in rural parts of North Carolina without robust public transportation, lacking a driver’s license or access to a car can turn voting off campus into an extraordinarily time- consuming, burdensome task. At WCU, students have reported difficulty merely accessing grocery stores on a regular basis due to lack of transportation, let alone casting their ballot.
On-campus voting sites often provide crucial infrastructure for accommodating voters with disabilities, such as ample parking and modern ADA-compliant facilities. This is particularly beneficial during early voting in North Carolina when voters may choose any early voting location in their county to cast their ballot, allowing voters with disabilities to choose a voting location that suits their needs.
The Bottom Line
Removing early voting sites from college campuses makes voting harder for students, school faculty and staff, and the surrounding community. Instead of trying to suppress our votes, our election officials should be making voting more accessible for everyone.
January 12, 2026
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August 17, 2026
Last updated: September 24, 2026