We're now facing the repercussions of the partisan election takeover laws that went into effect at the end of 2024, John.

To refresh your memory: After the 2024 elections and the defeat of a MAGA candidate for governor, opponents of voting rights in North Carolina jammed through a bill that took the power of the governor to appoint people to election boards and handed that to the state auditor. It's worth noting that the state auditor is the only statewide elected Republican, with Democrats winning the 2024 races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

Now, among massive protests from young voters, the MAGA-fied North Carolina State Elections Board recently shot down proposals to continue having early voting sites on several universities around the state. These weren't new sites either; these were places where North Carolina had provided early voting locations for a decade or more.

This is voter suppression, plain and simple, by making it harder for eligible, registered voters to vote in-person by taking away their polling place. It's another demonstration of how opponents of voting rights in North Carolina are more focused on expanding and cementing their own power than they are in serving the people and having fair elections.

We have to fight these suppressive actions in North Carolina and any other state where opponents of voting rights try to replicate this. Step up with $35 or whatever you can today to help every eligible voter cast their ballot >>

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These new, highly partisan State Election Board members wouldn't even look the protestors in the eye or engage with their proposals. After the vote, Chairman Francis De Luca threatened to call the cops on students if they didn’t leave.

Need to better understand how this impacts young voters? Western Carolina University in Jackson County, for example, has had a polling place on campus since 2016 that’s been used in five general elections and four primaries, according to a document prepared for the board. The state board voted 3-2 to get rid of it. 

Closing the campus voting site would not save money, but “would create barriers to voting for young, rural residents,” Jackson County Board member Betsy Swift told the state board. 64% of students don’t have vehicles to drive to the polling place, she said. 

Without the on-campus site, the closest polling place for students will be a recreation center nearly two miles away. Students without transportation will have to walk along a four-lane highway and through a meadow to get there. 

Voter suppression isn't just black and white photos of eligible voters being turned away from polling places. Voter suppression is making it harder for eligible voters to take part in our elections through onerous ID requirements, closing polling places, taking away voting locations, or ending mail-in voting. Every time someone makes it harder to cast your ballot, voters are suppressed.

It's not going to end until we stop them.

Opponents of voting rights aren't going to stop attacking our fundamental right to vote until we stop them at the ballot box and take away their power. Chip in $35 or whatever you can today to help fight back nationwide >>

Integrity First Voter Action Project is dedicated to expanding ballot access and increasing voter participation across the country.

Since the Supreme Court gutted key provisions in the Voting Rights Act, extreme politicians have taken advantage to pass harsh laws that restrict access to the ballot box. These restrictions particularly affect disadvantaged communities and people of color. It’s our goal to bring awareness to these laws wherever they may crop up and organize voters to take action to ensure the right to vote is available to everyone in their states and communities.

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