Daily Deacon

Students talk about voting in the primary and North Carolina’s new voter ID law

Many Wake Forest students voted in the North Carolina presidential primary election on March 15, which despite the new state voter identification law, saw greater turnout than the 2012 primary.

35.7% of the 239,851 registered voters in Forsyth County voted in the primary compared to 34.7% in 2012, according to the Forsyth County Board of Elections.

“I was shocked at how many students were interested in voting,” said Wake Forest junior Hannah Dobie, a member of Wake the Vote, [def WV].

Wake the Vote, as well as other campus organizations like College Democrats and College Republicans, held many activities leading up to the primary to encourage student participation. Dobie credits these and the particular “craziness” of the entire election to the student turnout.

“Personally, I really enjoyed the registration drives,” said freshman Clara Ilkka, communications director of College Democrats at Wake Forest, referring to the group’s efforts to register students.

According to Ilkka, “There were a lot of students, especially freshmen, who were unaware that they could register to vote in the primary if they’re out of state.”

Other activities held by these groups included student debates, documentary screenings and voting rights forums with guest speakers like Jeff Furman, Bernie Sanders advocate chairman of the board of the Vermont-based Ben and Jerry’s and Reverend Doctor William Barber II, member of the national board of the NAACP.

On the day of the election, Wake the Vote partnered with Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan organization that provides state political data, and had a hotline booth set up outside the polls. The hotline connected to lawyers in Raleigh, who answered voters’ questions. This was especially geared towards questions about the state’s new voter ID law, which calls for a North Carolina ID or passport to vote.

“We stood outside the polls and took complaints and made sure everyone could vote,” said Dobie, who added, “The hotline was always full. More lawyers actually had to come.”

Dobie and other students, like freshman and Wake the Vote member Katherine Cassidy, said the law, which is meant to eliminate voter fraud, is unnecessarily confusing, disenfranchising to college students and a “huge pain.”

Cassidy served as a poll watcher on the day of the election and said she saw a lot of confusion among voters, like in regards to the misconception that the address on a voter’s North Carolina driver’s licenses has to match their registration address, for example. Cassidy also commented on how hard it was to explain to her friends how to vote in North Carolina before the election.

“I think it will be interesting to see if this ID law actually sticks around,” according to Cassidy.

Wake the Vote and College Democrats have more activities planned to prepare the campus for the November general election in hopes to keep educating students about the law and encouraging voting participation.

According to Ilkka, College Democrats will hold more registration drives and issue-education events to inform students on the Democratic candidate’s platform. She predicts a large student turnout, as this is most students’ first time voting in a presidential election.

“If Donald Trump is on the ballot in November, be prepared to see a lot of students who have been quiet so far get out and vote,” added Ilkka of the Republican front-runner and frequent subject in the media.

[Other Nov. activities…]

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