Students protest outside of the Guilford County Board of Elections meeting on Nov. 18. Photo courtesy of Shia Rozier.
Guilford County’s early voting site plan disenfranchises students, Black communities, critics say
On Nov. 18, the Republican-majority Guilford County Board of Elections voted 3-2 to create a list of early voting sites for the 2026 primary elections which did not include on-campus voting sites for North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University or UNC Greensboro, sparking backlash from students and the surrounding community. Contrary to many headlines, the sites weren’t “cut,” or “eliminated” – Guilford County has never operated early voting sites on either campus. This decision isn’t a new or shocking one, but instead points to a much longer-standing issue: Republicans will do whatever they can to prevent people who they fear will not keep them in power from voting, and students are among their main targets.
At the Nov. 18 meeting, over 50 students from both schools protested the decision, but were not given the opportunity to speak. Instead, cries of “Shame!” rang out as the board voted down an alternative plan proposed by Democrat Carolyn Bunker which would have included NC A&T and UNCG, as well as additional sites on the eastern side of the county to provide greater access to low-income and Black communities. Other protestors, organized under the Guilford County Democratic Party, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad, placed surgical tape over their mouths to protest the denial of public input on the plan.
“As citizens in this great country, we have certain rights and privileges,” Eugene Lester, the chair of the board, told the gathered protestors. “Rights are those things that we get automatically, like the right to be presumed innocent in a criminal trial. There’s nothing we have to do other than to be born here and enjoy the Constitution to get that right. Then there are privileges. Voting is a privilege.”
A privilege, it seems, that Republican members of the board don’t believe local students have earned.
Neither school has ever been used as an early voting site during a primary election, according to the Guilford County Board of Elections. This is not a new form of student voter suppression, but that doesn’t make it right.
“I think it's a problem that it hasn't been a primary polling site,” Shia Rozier, co-lead for the Civic Engagement Coalition at NC A&T, said. “I think that within each election, especially with how many Aggie alum are the polling site workers, and our offer to make sure that students work the polling site for free as workers, I think there really is no reason for us not to be used as a polling site in the primary election, and especially with such a crucial election coming up with midterms.”
Republican members of the board have long been against on-campus voting for local college students, notably Kathryn Lindley.
“Some of her comments have been along the lines of, ‘Well, if the kids register here, they're also voting back in New York, too,’ or, you know, ‘We don't know who these people are or where they're coming from,” Carolyn Bunker, a Democratic board member, said. “And just very derogatory, accusatory things that can't really be backed up.”
However, student advocates insist that Aggies – and all students – have the right to voting access. NC A&T students and alumni are a significant driver of Greensboro’s economy, according to Rozier. Homecoming celebrations alone represent a significant boost to local businesses, with 40,000 to 60,000 Aggies flocking to the city each year.
“This is a college town. We represent so much of the population and so much of the financial numbers,” Rozier said. “So for us to do all that for the city, but not be afforded a polling site to decide about things happening in this area is blasphemous.”
Without on-campus polling sites, Rozier said, many students will have difficulty getting to the polls. Freshmen are not eligible for on-campus parking, and, under the current plan, the closest polling station would be at the Guilford County Agricultural Center – a 40 minute walk away from campus.
“It's already a taxing enough exercise to be able to participate within the democracy, and adding a physical barrier and distance to voting makes it harder,” Rozier said. “And that is the sentiment that I've heard. It's a hard enough sell now to get people engaged in voting, and having to add a physical barrier to that as well makes it even harder for people to turn out.”
Because the decision was not unanimous, the current plan will have to be sent to the North Carolina State Board of Elections for a final vote before it can be approved. With the state board now controlled by Republicans after the General Assembly stripped the governor of the power to nominate board members and gave it to the Republican state auditor, it is all but certain to succeed.
Still, Rozier said that she and other advocates will be working to get students to the polls, no matter what the board of elections decides. She said that after protesting at three board meetings in a row, the collaboration between the two schools on less than a day’s notice was an inspiring first.
“It makes me hopeful for the future of our democracy,” Rozier said. “I hope more people come next time, and I hope more people get mad and realize that if your vote wasn't important, they wouldn't be working so hard to take it away.”
This polling station map doesn’t just affect students. Bunker said the plan also disproportionately favored white, wealthy Guilford County voters. She said that while voting sites appear to be evenly distributed, the county’s population is not, and neither is voters’ access to reliable transportation.
“You get out into the suburbs and Summerfield and Oak Ridge and those areas, you have half million, million dollar, two million dollar homes, most people out there have 2, 3, 4, cars. And they're used to driving 5, 10 miles to go somewhere,” Bunker said. “You get into East Greensboro, and the socioeconomic situation is that most people do not own their homes. They rent. Most people do not have cars. They depend upon either walking or the bus lines, which are not that great, and so forth. And therefore, in areas like that, you do need more voting sites that are closer together. It's not a fair thing to expect someone to make two transfers to get to a voting spot on the bus and to take a half a day or a day to do it, because the buses don't always run exactly on time and so forth. That's where their map failed.”
Bunker said that she and the other Democratic board members expected to have their alternative plan voted down, but decided to ask for more than they could get in hopes that the state Board of Elections would create a compromise.
“Given the size and the remarkable diversity of Guilford County, it is essential that the Board of Elections selects early voting sites that serve all voters,” Bunker said in a statement given before the board of elections’ decision. “Ensuring equitable access is not only our duty, but it is fundamental to the integrity of our democratic process. Our decisions today must reflect a commitment to fairness, inclusivity and the belief that every voter, regardless of where they live, deserves a convenient and accessible opportunity.”
The N.C. State Board of Elections will meet on Monday, Jan. 13 to discuss whether or not to certify this and 12 other counties’ non-unanimous voting plans, with NC A&T students expected to once again demonstrate in favor of accessible voting for themselves.