Early voting not on campus?

Mark, is it possible to split the task, to have the first
week of voting at the senior center and the second week at the
student union? Or, since there are advantages and disadvantages to both sites, run both of them simultaneously?
Morehead has always been really convenient for me, and I'd
hate to lose it.

Thanks for writing the letter to Barry Garner.

What about a building NEAR the planetarium, so that if people came to vote they would see signs pointing them to the right place. Like maybe the church next door? Or, one of the UNC buildings adjacent?

I like Mark's point as a public transit advocate, but I always vote with my whole family in tow on the weekend, so I would probably go to Carrboro instead.

why is this an either or issue? Why is there a limit of two southern orange sites?

If many people have problems with on campus parking, have a site at the Senior center. Then also have one at the student union. Keep the one in Carrboro. Have three in Southern Orange.

Here in Wake County we had 13 early voting sites in 2004. Some had parking problems, but they were easily accessible to people who lived nearby who did not have cars (it was on the NC State campus). Some were in locations with lots of parking that were great for people WITH cars. Everyone had an easy option.

Steve is Executive Associate Provost last I heard.

I guess Chapel Hill Town Hall would be a difficult site, but what about the CHPL, a regular polling place. Could the museum work?

Thanks, Ruby. I did not know that we Chapel Hillians could vote early in Carrboro.

Sounds like a republican scam to me. We all know the old folks vote republican due to their fixed incomes and therefore resultant increased tax aversion.

I guess it is better to inconvenience the old folks than the young ones, since they have so much more time on their hands.

Sounds like a republican scam to me. We all know the old folks vote republican due to their fixed incomes and therefore resultant increased tax aversion.

I guess it is better to inconvenience the old folks than the young ones, since they have so much more time on their hands.

law requires early voting sites to be a public building.

Ramshead just south of Kenan Stadium could meet all the requirements, I would think.

How about the Post Office building on Franklin St?

This meets Will''s stated criteria from BOE. The Town could give BOE staff use of spaces in the Wallace Deck during the voting period. Spaces for public could be on Franklin or Henderson. The Town owns the building, handicap access, election area can be locked.

Thanks everyone for all of your ideas. Keep them coming! I'm keeping a list of potential options to give to the BOE.

Also, check out today's media coverage:

Herald-Sun story: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-868632.cfm?

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/652396.html

How about the Smith Center. Plenty of parking....

And it just occurred to me. Early voters at the Smith Center get to participate in a drawing for 2 tickets to a Tar Heel game. What an incentive.

Gerry,
I'm curious about the public-funded building requirement for one-stop voting. You are not the first person I've heard list this as a requirement. But I looked at the General Statute that I thought was relevant and what I understood it to say was that the BOE couldn't REQUIRE a church to give it space, but it could ask. Am I looking at the wrong statute or misinterpreting it? I think it was GS 163-129.
Linda

Just to be clear Will, it's organic lemonade.

Seems to me it should be located where working people live, like Rogers Road for example. I am sure the Faith Tabernacle church over here would help out.

It was interesting to read about Mr. Nelson weighing in on this issue thru the local newspaper, especially since he listed his address as Carrboro. I thought he was moving to Hillsborough since he could not afford Carrboro. Another Poser? (Yes, poser as in someone who says one thing and does another for those who don't get it.) Heaven forbid.

The bottom line is that the liberals do not want to lose votes by putting this anywhere except in the laps of the students. Paint it any way you want. It is a vote grab.

It seems the early polling station should be at both places not one or the other. We should making it as easy as possible for all to vote, not pitting one population against the other trying to figure out which is more worthy.

They should have early voting at the courthouse on Franklin Street. Have you ever been in that building? It is cavernous and largely empty downstairs. Plenty of room and for some reason, way more bathrooms than could ever be needed?

G.S. 163-227.2(g) restricts early voting sites to public buildings. (state, county, local, school board, airport authority ...) This was part of a compromise five years ago when the excuse requirement for early voting was eliminated and sites outside the BoE office were allowed.

David R says: "And it just occurred to me. Early voters at the Smith Center get to participate in a drawing for 2 tickets to a Tar Heel game. What an incentive."

I think that would be illegal.

Mike Nelson lives in Hillsborough. That's what the Orange County Commissioners contact page says.

Making it easy for UNC students to vote is not just a vote grab.
There's a lot of history here, mostly that UNC groups have done
a superb job in getting UNC students to register, but not getting
them to actually vote. Every student body president that I have
known in the last 20 years has said that he/she would actually
accomplishing this task, but every odd year (town council
elections), the turnout of college-aged people at the
precincts where most UNC students live is about 3 pct.

The history revolves around suppression of the vote of the
UNC students for fear that the students would dominate the
town elections, with the result that the most liberal
candidates (students and older ones) would wlin easily, while
those whose platforms revolved around more conservative
issues, e.g., efficient govt with low prop taxes, would
not have a chance. Personally, as a UNC faculty member,
I likely would have benefitted by a high student vote,
but that's not enough to justify a change. In today's
world, I'm not sure which candidates would
win if the ballots were physically put under the noses
of all UNC students.

I'm for making it easy for everyone to vote. However,
the board of elections needs to treat everyone, of all
ages, equally. If most polling places are not within
walking distance of voters homes or jobs, why should
special precincts be set up for one population to make
it easier for that population to vote? The best example
I can think of is the special precinct for the Carol Woods
Retirement community -- and as we know, elderly
people do vote in a very high percentage. Does anyone
know its history?

It frustrates me that, in 2005, so few UNC students walked
over to Morehead Planeterium to vote. This, to me, shows
that it's not convenience, it's lack of involvement.

Given the relatively conservative nature of the student government, it would appear that conservative students are the majority voters for campus elections. If that's any indicator of engagement in local politics, a polling place on campus would benefit conservative candidates over more liberal ones.

Will, I believe local candidates can also inspire students... am I wrong or was student turn out higher when Mark Chilton ran for town council in 1991? Certainly it was a big deal on campus and discussed widely in the DTH.

(I remember the year because I had turned 18 a few months earlier and it was a BIG DEAL to me to vote for a student in my first election.)

Then again, is there even a way to count student turn out?

Terri, you might look at the DTH as well as student government for an indicator of student politics. I think conservatives at UNC are more active because of support they get from national Republican organizations and because of the perception that they're under attack. I'm not sure that really reflects the student body.

But are you actually suggesting UNC students run more conservative than people their age nationally? I'd find that very hard to believe.

Some of the best research about student political views at UNC I've seen was done by Fred Stutzman. Check out his findings here. He studied student politics from Facebook. (the social networking website) At the time of his study 90% of UNC Undergraduates had Facebook accounts. Facebook users classify themselves as to their political orientation.

Apolitical/Other
Female 220
Male 442

Very Liberal
Female 470
Male 337

Liberal
Female 2320
Male 1311

Moderate
Female 1500
Male 1254

Conservative
Female 1332
Male 1035

Very Conservative
Female 67
Male 113

Libertarian
Female 49
Male 119

I went to undergrad school at Bucknell, in Lewisburg, PA.
I don't remember anything about the local government,
who the mayor was, etc. The town government of Lewisburg
wasn't on my radar screen at that time in my life, so I can
understand that Chapel Hill's government is a non-concern
for UNC students. Even though all the standard arguments
applied then as now and there as here -- what the council does impacts the lives of the students, etc.

"But are you actually suggesting UNC students run more conservative than people their age nationally? I'd find that very hard to believe."

I don't know how you reached that conclusion. I postulated that since the student government is relatively conservative, conservative students must turn out to vote at a higher rate than liberal students in campus elections. That pattern contradicts John Kramer's claim that "liberals do not want to lose votes by putting this anywhere except in the laps of the students. Paint it any way you want. It is a vote grab."

I know this is a progressive blog. And I know that it's appropriate for any candidate to try and get more of their voters to the polls than the opposition including telephones, rides, etc. But as progressives we should also try to make sure that all have equal and as easy access as possible no mater what their political bent.

It has been the conservatives who have tried to disenfranchise blocks of voters by making registration difficult or too few voting machines in unfriendly territory or misinformation campaigns, etc. I hope that most here would not agree with tactics.

So tell me why are we discussing the political leanings of UNC students? Should that really be a factor in deciding where early voting stations are?

I like WillR's attitude.

Gerry,
You are the expert on making sense of these statutes, but I keep reading 163-129 over and over and don't see that they can't ASK a church.

"To this end, the county board of elections shall be entitled to demand and use any school or other State, county, or municipal building, or a part thereof, or any other building, or a part thereof, which is supported or maintained, in whole or in part by or through tax revenues provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to permit any board of elections to demand and use any tax exempt church property for such purposes without the express consent of the individual church involved, for the purpose of conducting registration and voting for any primary or election, and it may require that the requisitioned premises, or a part thereof, be vacated for these purposes."

I don't doubt that I'm missing something, but I'm pig-headed enough to want to be sure I understand. I will take your answer as the final word - just wanted to be sure of our limitations in finding another site.

Linda

Linda, that is the provision for election day. The provision for early voting REQUIRES that it be in a public building. It is in another statute.

In any case, the State senate is voting on a bill TODAY that would allow early voting in non-public buildings with the following language:

The State Board of Elections shall not approve, either in a Plan approved unanimously by a county board of elections or in an alternative Plan proposed by a member or members of that board, a one‑stop site in a building that the county board of elections is not entitled under G.S. 163‑129 to demand and use as an election‑day voting place, unless the State Board of Elections finds that other equally suitable sites were not available and that the use of the sites chosen will not unfairly advantage or disadvantage geographic, demographic, or partisan interests of that county.

the NEW language being added by the bill begins with the words "unless"

PLEASE don't make voting any more complicated than it already is. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PLACES YOU CAN SET UP POLLS FOR THE STUDENTS ON THE UNC CAMPUS. I work at Davis Library. I'd be more than glad to volunteer my time to help set up Polls somewhere near the main campus area (maybe even Davis Library would be a possibility).

Just don't turn people off the voting process! These are kids!
Don't make them walk away at this point when the political process needs to be impressed on them. You act like people actually have time to chase around and find their polling place.
I really don't understand this unfriendly treatment of students especially since we are a college town: we're supposed to be student-FRIENDLY.

"Just don't turn people off the voting process! These are kids!"

Sue B. Field, I agree with you that voting should be made as friendly as possible. But these aren't kids, they're young adults who are old enough that they should to be willing to make at least some effort to influence the decisions that are going to impact their lives - now and perhaps for many years to come. Perhaps I'm just showing my age and living in the past but when I was in college 40 years ago I couldn't wait to become old enough to vote so that I could have the satisfaction of expressing my opinion, even if it was in a losing effort (I cast my first vote in 1968 so you can probably guess which losing effort I'm referring to).

At some point these "kids" you refer to have to realize that the world is not going to change to suit them and that if they want a better life, or to even keep the life they have, they are going to have to get involved.

George, perhaps it would also help to remember that about a quarter of these residents are brand new to town and don't have cars (indeed, aren't allowed to have cars on campus). They're still figuring out their way around campus, never mind town.

It would be difficult for anyone in that situation to find their way to some of the voting sites used for the precincts campus dorms are assigned to for voting.

When I was a student some odd years ago, we had to PAY to use the bus! Can you imagine such a thing! But I am glad to support free buses now.

Why must there be barriers to participation? It's like some kind of hazing for voting. "Only those who can find their way to Mason Farm precinct are worthy of voting in our local elections by golly!"

Joan,
I'm not suggesting that we not have a voting site on campus. In fact, I think we should if we can but if it is off-campus but within a reasonable walking distance I still think that is a suitable alternative. Many Americans, especially our African-Americans, have gone through hell to exercise their right to vote. So if students aren't particularly interested in exercising that right I'll continue to be disappointed, but I'm not going to lose my sleep over it.

I think that we should make it as easy as possible for everyone to vote and do so at a location that is easy to get to and close to where they live. Sure, Carol Woods has a separate polling site and it is very well used. Would the residents there who always seem to lead all precincts in participation vote at the same hight percentage if they had to leave the facility and vote elsewhere? Maybe, maybe not. But the point is that convenience matters.

On the other hand, students have had the opportunity to vote early on campus since early voting started. How many have taken advantage of it? Not doing so is no reason to make the site further away and harder to get to, but let's consider what we need to do to assist the greatest number of voters, potential or otherwise.

Are we going to tell the BOCC to spend more on the BOE? What gets cut? Like we seem to want to claim "the buses here are free," we ignore the fact that nothing is free - it's only a matter of who is doing the paying. Since we can't afford all of our needs and wants, we have to make choices. Do we know what we want? Some would say education, others more social services, and others want lower taxes. Voting is a way to express you preferences - wherever you have to go to do it!