Students encouraged to vote early

After dozens of people were turned away from polls last year because of registration problems, local political figures are encouraging students to vote early to avoid any election day woes.

Last year, approximately 30 people who thought they were registered to vote in the Greenwood precinct were not, said Emilie de Luca, chief judge of the precinct.

De Luca said some of these people had registered in the Pit, but their registrations might not have made it to the Orange County Board of Elections.

“The main issue is the Board of Elections has to have the forms by 5 p.m. on the last day to register,” said Russell McIntyre, vice president of UNC Young Democrats.

McIntyre said his group made sure every voter registration got to the Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on Oct. 12 — the final day to register in North Carolina.

“As far as this issue with registrations not making it to the (board), it would depend on the individual groups doing registration drives on campus,” McIntyre said.

Once the Board of Elections enters the voter information into its system, it becomes available online.

McIntyre said checking the voter registration information online is a good way to make sure students’ voting experience goes smoothly.

“If you wish to check your registration status, you can go to the (board’s) website and look it up, which I would actually recommend many students to do before they vote,” McIntyre said in an email.

Tracy Reams, director of the Orange County Board of Elections, said she is not aware of any registration forms not being turned in.

But registration problems weren’t the only obstacles for voters last year.

Roughly 100 people — including students — ended up in the wrong precincts while trying to cast their ballots on election day.

De Luca said this could be a problem for students who don’t know to change their address when they move to a new dorm or off-campus location.

“You have to vote in your precinct, and you have to have been registered before,” de Luca said.

There are 44 voting precincts in Orange County, and the UNC campus is divided between several precincts.

Prior to election day, registered voters can vote in any precinct during one-stop early voting, which allows people to register on the same day they cast their vote.

More than 20,600 people have voted early in Orange County so far, compared to 20,575 at the same point in 2008.

Reams and de Luca said the best way for students to avoid problems is to vote early.

Early voting will end Nov. 3, and an early voting station is located in Rams Head Hall on the UNC campus.

But for voters wanting to cast their ballot on Nov. 6, they will have to visit the polling place in their assigned precinct.

“Just be sure you get people to vote early. It solves all the problems,” de Luca said.

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