Orange County voting site moves to N.C. Hillel

Following the Orange County Board of Elections’ inability to reach a unanimous decision on this year’s location for early voting, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted last week to select North Carolina Hillel as the voting site for the University community.

In past years, the site has moved from Morehead Planetarium to University Square to its location last year at Ram’s Head Dining Hall .

Tracy Reams , the director of the county’s Board of Elections, said the decision to move the location from Ram’s Head to N.C. Hillel was based on accessibility.

Hillel’s off-campus location at 210 W. Cameron Ave. led some board members to worry that students will be deterred from voting.

Jamie Cox , the county board’s secretary, said he believed Hillel to be a good site for early voting, but that a better option would have been to flank the campus on both sides by adding another voting site at Cobb Residence Hall.

“Being such a densely populated pedestrian-friendly community, I think multiple options across campus would have been appropriate,” he said.

Cox said his concerns of having Hillel as the sole early voting site for the campus community stem from its location and lack of parking.

“When compared to Ram’s Head, which had a built-in parking deck, parking will be much more limited at Hillel,” he said.

Cox also said Hillel’s proximity to Carrboro Town Hall, which will also serve as an early voting site this November, could cause an overlap of voters.

In a letter Cox wrote to the state’s board last month, he raised concerns about Hillel’s off-campus location.

“Many, if not most, students and many faculty and staff do not use cars on campus and rely instead on walking or biking,” he said. “Having the one UNC site so far away from the majority of student housing is problematic.”

Still, Reams said Hillel’s location away from the bulk of campus should not pose a problem in bringing University members in to vote.

“We’re hoping that with Hillel’s close proximity and some advertisements throughout campus, students will still be able to come in their usual numbers,” she said.

For Linda Ellentuck , Hillel’s operations coordinator, the opportunity to host early voting is simply an exciting opportunity.

“I think it’s great,” she said. “We’re excited to have students here, and I don’t think it should be difficult to get them here.”

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