The coronavirus crisis has upended countless aspects of student life. It has also made it clear that students and North Carolinians cannot sit the 2020 elections out.
The months-long public health crisis has added to a long list of reasons why we, as students at UNC and as fellows with NextGen North Carolina, are going to the polls. Climate emergency, racial injustice, the burden of student debt, inaccessibility of affordable health care, uncertainty of earning a living wage — these are all issues that are on the ballot for us this November. However, it was the White House administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus and total disregard for human life that has motivated us not only to vote, but also to mobilize our peers as part of NextGen’s youth voter registration program.
From the very beginning of the pandemic, it was clear that our leaders at the federal level did not take the impact of COVID-19 on young people into account. Many younger Americans, who have borne a significant economic burden from losing their part or full-time jobs amid the pandemic, have been left out of the COVID-19 response. A one-time stimulus check of $1,200, while limited, skipped over young people recently claimed as dependents — such as many new UNC graduates — who sincerely need support while facing unemployment and uncertain job prospects. At the time when relief was first debated, research showed that younger generations and Black and brown Americans were disproportionately bearing the economic costs of the coronavirus.
Months later, as deaths across the country continue to tick up, the terrible situation that students, teachers, staff, parents and families find themselves is one whose blame lies first and foremost with the Trump administration. (University administrators, you’re not off the hook, but that’s another story.) The inept and uncoordinated response to the pandemic — from the lack of a centralized testing plan to the spreading of dangerous misinformation from the president himself — has left us with cases continuing to rise across the country and over 170,000 lives lost. Had we any hope to keep students safely on campus for the entire semester, we would have needed White House officials to act like the adults in the room a long time ago.
That’s why NextGen North Carolina is working to achieve historic youth voter turnout this year. Our generation deserves real representation, and since we couldn’t count on President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis or the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly (whose role includes electing the UNC Board of Governors) to look out for young people and our families, we’re going to vote them out this November.
As NextGen’s UNC-Chapel Hill Fellows, we’re committed to helping our peers navigate the voting process, which like everything else, has become more complicated for many because of the coronavirus. Students and young people face barriers to vote in a typical election year, from confusing residency requirements to a lack of transportation to the polls, and now COVID-induced uncertainty poses additional obstacles. We’re working to ensure that all Tar Heels have the information and resources they need to vote safely and securely this fall, even as the pandemic has put a stop to the in-person voter registration drives and rides to the polls that have supported students in the past.
As our classmates take stock of all that is on your to-do list, whether that’s squaring up your course load or finalizing your living arrangements, we urge you to add a few more items to your checklist: register to vote, request your absentee ballot and make a plan to cast your ballot early. Don’t wait — and reach out to us or join our next digital event if you have questions. We’ve seen firsthand how students are affected by the chaos of the coronavirus, and voting in this election is too important to leave to the last minute.
Cora Martin, Class of 2023
Violet Wey, Class of 2022
