Elections should be held at Cobb Residence Hall

As the decision to establish an on-campus voting site continues, UNC students and personnel work closely with county officials during their evaluation, in hopes of keeping the democratic process easily available to students and the public alike.

Currently, the next campus voting site is still up-in-the air, as both parties are still searching to find a suitable replacement for Ram’s Head.

In the past, on-campus voting sites have been located at Moorehead Planetarium, the Center for Dramatic Art and University Square.

The Orange County Board of Elections will be presented with a list of adequate sites on Monday.
When the BOE gets this list, it should turn an eye to the suggestion of Cobb Residence Hall, as it seems to be the best option available.

In order to even be considered, suggested sites must meet certain criteria. The site must offer a secure and lockable room, surface-level parking lot within short walking distance of voting booths and must be reachable and recognizable to both the public and students.

The ground levels of Cobb Residence Hall and the North Carolina Hillel building, as well as the multi-purpose room at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History are all being considered.

While all three sites present obstacles, the site at Cobb presents the least difficulty in ensuring public access.

While the Hillel building initially proved the most ideal site, being within close proximity to campus and with adequate indoor space and parking, it must close on Friday and not reopen until Sunday in observance of the Sabbath. This precludes the Hillel building from potentially being a One Stop Voting site, as many of the dates for this service fall on the weekend.

This issue presents a hindrance that can be easily avoiding by simply choosing to hold elections at another site.

While Cobb Residence Hall and the Stone Center offer equally-adequate space and offer easy public access, they do struggle to offer a minimum of ten parking spaces needed for elections personnel. However, UNC officials have offered parking spaces at University Square for these personnel.

Furthermore students frequenting the sites will have to be relocated elsewhere, as exams and classes will be held at the time of the voting period. Though this is entirely feasible, it does pose an inconvenience to students. Therefore, Cobb, which has only two classrooms, would obviously be the better choice over the Stone Center.

If this site is indeed chosen — as it should be — officials must keep in mind the idea originated with students. This shows the potential that relationships between public officials and students has.