{"id":432,"date":"2026-06-13T04:12:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=432"},"modified":"2026-06-13T04:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:12:48","slug":"republicans-axe-nc-state-student-center-as-an-early-voting-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=432","title":{"rendered":"Republicans axe NC State student center as an early voting site"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Republicans on the Wake County Board of Elections rejected the NC State University student center as an early voting site for the general election, resisting the fervent pleas of speakers who wanted to keep it as a polling place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Talley Student Center was used for early voting in the 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2024 general elections and in several primaries, according to Gerry Cohen, a Democrat on the Wake board.<\/span><\/p>\n

A building about a mile away will be swapped out for Talley under the early voting plan the board approved Friday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Republicans rejected in a 3-2 vote a plan Cohen offered to keep Talley.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Republicans argued that it is too difficult for people who live off campus to find parking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Friday marked another instance where Republicans, in high profile decisions, have refused to place early voting sites on college campuses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Republicans took control of the state and local boards of election last year under a controversial law that stripped the governor of appointment powers and gave them to state Auditor Dave Boliek.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donna Williams, a Republican member of the Wake board, said it will be easier for voters to park at the Business Services building off Western Boulevard, the site Republicans preferred.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very easily accessible for everybody,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking in support of the student center, Cohen said the 47,000 people who live, study and work at NC State make up a community as large as many Wake municipalities. The site has more available parking than another early voting site, he said, and Talley is a location familiar to voters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t make West Raleigh voters feel like you are making their voting more difficult,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cPlease approve the Talley site for early voting. Wake County wants this, needs this, and expects this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most members of the public who spoke Friday supported early voting sites at Talley, the Southeast Raleigh YMCA, or Knightdale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd booed when Williams read a list of sites that omitted Talley.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Will Cowan, a graduate student who worked on voter engagement at NC State as an undergrad, said it was important to keep early voting at the student center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most significant barrier to students voting is typically accessibility to voting sites. Talley addresses that problem,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cResearch shows that people who vote in their first election \u2013 so college-age students \u2013 tend to stay more engaged and informed for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Only one person, Joanne Empie of the Wake County Republican Party, urged the elections board to reject Talley in favor of the Business Services building.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The early voting plan without Talley won unanimous approval. If the vote had been divided,\u00a0 the state Board of Elections would have had to make the final decision, delaying implementation of the county\u2019s plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Decisions about early voting sites have been contentious this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A GOP county elections board member said he was warned against voting for a campus polling site<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n