Hillary for North Carolina pushes voter registration effort at UNC

With about two months left until election day, Hillary for North Carolina launched a statewide campus voter registration drive.

“The registration drive is part of the Clinton campaign’s nationwide effort to register and commit three million Americans to vote for Democrats this November,” Hillary for North Carolina said in a statement.

At UNC, N.C. Democratic Party campus fellows stood in front of Wilson Library with forms to register students to vote.

Jordan Jenkins, a UNC sophomore and N.C. Democratic Party campus fellow who registered students at the drive, said youth voter registration on college campuses would be important for the election.

“Being approached by fellow students makes it a more approachable process, so I think that that makes it more likely for people to register,” she said.

Jacob Smith, a doctoral candidate in the department of political science, said due to the difficulties Clinton’s campaign had with youth voters during the primary, she’d target youths for the general election.

“I think that young voters are an important part of the Obama coalition — what Hillary Clinton would like to become the Clinton Coalition,” he said.

During the drive, Jenkins and the fellows led unregistered voters and voters with outdated registrations through the process of registering.

Madison Draughn, a sophomore and one of the students who registered, said it’s good to get diverse voters in an election.

“It’s important for youth to participate in our government because the younger people have a much different political stance than the older generations,” she said.

Jenkins said many people assume voter registration is an automatic process, but in reality voters have to actively ensure they are registered properly for each election.

“People seem to think that voting is going to be an easier process than it usually is in the state of North Carolina,” she said.

Jenkins and other fellows emphasized early voting at Chapel of the Cross, the nearest Orange County voting location to campus.

The event at UNC is among 68 campus voter registration events occurring across 18 North Carolina college campuses this week, hosted by Hillary for North Carolina.

“Chapel Hill is one of the strongholds for the Democratic Party in North Carolina. It’s a place where there are a lot of people and also a lot of potential voters,” Smith said.

The fellows provided the option for students to sign up for early voting and campaign information.

Tyler Beauchamp, a UNC sophomore, had already registered to vote, but did sign up for information.

“It’s a weird election to start voting in, but I’m excited,” he said.

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