Students March to Polls Amid Voting Site Challenges
In a spirited display of civic engagement, over 100 students from North Carolina A&T State University and UNC Greensboro embarked on a march to the polling stations on the first day of early voting, defying the sweltering 85-degree heat.
The march was a response to the recent decision by the Guilford County Board of Elections, which opted not to provide on-campus early voting sites for N.C. A&T and UNCG—a facility they had access to in 2024, albeit not during midterms.
Candidates and officials, including North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Anita Earls, state Sen. Gladys Robinson, and state House Minority Leader Robert Reives, rallied the students, emphasizing the importance of their participation. “You turned out when they took your voting site away,” Reives reminded them. “You need to do your duty today, and then you need to make sure that any student that didn’t get in their vote today, you get them there.”
The students’ journey to the nearest polling location at Union Square took approximately 45 minutes and was fraught with challenges such as missing sidewalks and obstructive branches, forcing them onto the street.
Among those queuing at Union Square was Dasiyah Weiters, a first-year student at UNCG, participating in her inaugural voting experience. “This is my first time voting, so I want to make sure that my voice is getting heard,” she expressed.
The scene was bustling, with a line stretching beyond the building’s entrance. Xavier Jones, a student leader, articulated the determination of the group: “We will come and make our voices clear, no matter how far you push a polling site off of our campus, no matter how far you drag it up the street, no matter if you put it all the way on the other side of Greensboro, we will organize. We will march.”
These efforts underscore a commitment to ensuring that student voices are represented at the polls, with early voting continuing until October 31.
