Election day for the primaries is just around the corner. With candidates gearing up their campaigns, some students on UNC’s campus are preparing for November. They’re petitioning the university to cancel classes on November 8 to allow students the time to cast their ballot.
The NC Young People’s Alliance is a student group working to encourage young voter participation. The group started this year to empower students to play a bigger role in politics. Sam Hiner, president of the alliance, said young people are often underrepresented in the political realm.
“If politicians see that young people are voting, they’ll [care more] what young people have to say,” Hiner said. “We’ll see issues that young people care about becoming part of campaign platforms.”
To increase young voter participation, students began a petition to cancel class on Election Day. According to Hiner, more than 1,000 students have signed onto the petition saying they will skip class on Election Day if classes are not canceled. Hiner said nearly 20 professors have said they would cancel classes as well.
“Teachers see that this is such an important issue right now that they’re willing to reduce that class time in order to make sure that their students have time to vote,” Hiner said.
But, class time might not have to be interrupted. UNC’s fall semester includes two wellness days on September 6 and September 26. Hiner said some students are advocating for the September 6 wellness day to instead be moved to Election Day.
“Right now we’re sort of working with administration to try to find an effective way to do this,” Hiner said. “We are hoping for a compromise where we could get potentially a guarantee for future years. I think that’s something where we want to work with administration to make this happen in a non-disruptive way.”
UNC is not the only campus exploring the idea of canceling class on Election Day. When Elon University cancelled class for the 2020 election day, the school reported a 25 percent increase in student voter turnout than in 2016.
While Hiner is looking ahead to November’s election, he acknowledged the importance of participation in all elections – including the primary set for May 17. Most on-campus residents will have moved out by then, so Hiner encouraged students who wish to vote in Orange County’s primary to early vote during the April 28 or May 4 reading days or request an absentee ballot.
“I think it’s really important that students consider how important it is and make sure that they take the small amount of time to go vote,” Hiner said. “Once students do take that time to vote, it becomes a lifelong habit. It really is something where you can be involved in your community. We need people to be a part of a community and we can really be stronger together.”
UNC has not yet said if classes will be canceled November 8. In a statement from UNC Media Relations, the university said the 2022-23 calendar has already been published. Students, however, are encouraged to work with their student government representatives and the Academic Calendar Committee to present ideas and data about making Election Day a university holiday.
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