Students challenge state after early voting sites cut at NC universities

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A group of college students from three North Carolina universities, including the nation’s largest historically Black university, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against state election officials after efforts to establish early voting sites on their campuses were blocked.

The lawsuit asks a federal court to restore the voting sites before early voting begins next month. It accuses the Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections of creating “unnecessary, burdensome, and ultimately unjustifiable obstacles” for student voters.

The dispute follows the board’s decision to deny on-campus early voting at Western Carolina University, UNC Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University. All three schools have hosted early voting in past elections, though only WCU had a site during the last comparable election in 2022.

The plaintiffs — College Democrats of North Carolina and students Zayveon Davis, Zach Powell, Rose Daphne and Raquel Nelson — argue that removing the sites disproportionately affects young and Black voters. On-campus access, they say, is critical for students who lack transportation, have busy schedules, or are unfamiliar with off-campus polling locations.

“Having that on-campus access has been no mere convenience,” the complaint states. “It has been critical for overcoming barriers that student voters face when attempting to access the franchise.”

The lawsuit also highlights that same-day voter registration is available at early voting sites but not on election day at traditional polling locations, making the campus sites essential for first-time voters and those updating registration.

At WCU, the complaint notes, the former early voting site served the highest proportion of same-day registrants in the state in 2024 and the second youngest average voter age. For NC A&T, the closure evokes concerns given the school’s history as the nation’s largest HBCU and North Carolina’s documented history of creating barriers to Black political participation.

Officials cited cost, logistical challenges, and low turnout as reasons for closing the sites. Plaintiffs argue these justifications are thin and point out that the campus sites were the only early voting locations removed in their counties, suggesting a targeted reduction rather than a neutral adjustment.

The students are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to restore early voting on campus before the Feb. 12 start of early voting for North Carolina’s 2026 primary elections, asserting their constitutional right to vote under the First, Fourteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments.