UNC student groups push for voter registration despite a statewide decrease

Statewide numbers show fewer voters registered to vote this year compared to the last elections.

Registration ended Friday, and the N.C. State Board of Elections reported that the number of registered voters in the state declined by more than 82,000 from more than 6.2 million in 2008.

There is less interest in the election compared to the presidential election in 2008, said Tracy Reams, director of the Board of Elections for Orange County.

There were 105,527 registered voters in Orange County on Nov. 4, 2008, while only 101,217 were registered as of Friday, she said.

People moving, list maintenance and lack of interest all contributed to the decrease, Reams said.

People might also be less inspired to vote now simply because the visibility of presidential elections is lacking in the senate race, said David Murray, vice president of the UNC Young Democrats.

“We’ve had a decrease in numbers since 2008,” Murray said. “Obama inspired a lot of young people to go out and vote.”

Representatives from different groups on campus, including the UNC Young Democrats and the UNC College Republicans, have been out in the Pit for the last month encouraging students to register to vote.

In addition to providing voter registration forms, the College Republicans have been making information about absentee ballots available to students, said Anthony Dent, chairman of the group.

Young Democrats representatives with knowledge about the forms and laws behind registering have been in the Pit asking people to register at their current address, said Lee Storrow, the group’s president.

Murray said Young Democrats members have also been knocking on doors in their own dorms asking people to vote. They have been working with resident advisers to coordinate voter registration events involving pizza, movies and filling out voter registration forms.

Murray said as of Friday morning, the Young Democrats had registered more than 1,200 students on campus and were hoping to have about 1,300 by the end of the day.

Dent said he hopes students will take advantage of their right to vote to improve the current situation nationwide.
“Students look at the leadership, or lack thereof, in our country, and they become concerned and interested in the voting process,” he said.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.