N.C. A&T students host first of several early voting events

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first day of early voting kicked off with a march to the polls from N.C. A&T.

The event comes after the State Board of Elections decided against adding early voting locations at the university along with UNC Greensboro and Elon University.

Organizers said it is the first of many more voter turnout events they’re planning to help students navigate voting off campus.

“Aggies do what is necessary for our rights, for our survival and for our people,” said N.C. A&T student Jae’lah Monet, who joined more than 60 other students and community members in a walk to the nearest polling site about 1.3 miles away from campus.

She said the event helps students get to the election site safely while demonstrating to the State Board of Elections how important a polling site is on campus.

“We will be there all day, and we will all get a chance to vote. Accessibility is truly, truly so important to all of us Aggies, because we understand not everyone has a car, not every student has money for Uber, so we work together to make sure that everybody has an equal chance, and that is what it means to be an Aggie,” Monet said.

There are 10 early voting sites around Guilford County. The two closest to campus are the Old Guilford Court House and the Guilford AG Center, but both are more than a mile away.

Charlie Collicutt, director of the Guilford County Board of Elections, said this is usual for this election, but the school will remain a voting location on election day.

“There’s never been a midterm election, primary or general election that used any of our college campuses. We’ve only ever used them in presidential elections,” Collicutt said.  

“We’re staffed up at all of our polling sites. Any voter going to any site should see a fairly efficient process,” he said as students began lining up in the registration and voting lines.

Monet said they hope this walk changes that.

“There are a lot of things in this country that people have never had, and that doesn’t make them right. That doesn’t mean that it’s always fair, and this country is not known for always being accessible. That is why the future matters so much. The goal is to have polling sites for every election cycle, on our college campuses,” she explained.

Monet serves as a canvasser with the N.C A&T Chapter of the NAACP, where she’s trying to make sure more than 15,000 students are registered to vote.

“Every day, I meet a new Aggie who is doing something in the community to encourage their peers. Campaign trailblazers want people who are out making an impact every single day,” she said while standing in line to vote. 

Monet said more than 200 other student organizations are working together to help get students to the polls for the primary election.

The final day to cast early in-person ballots is February 28. Primary election day is March 3.

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