As incoming students prepare for their first year at UNC, they have to remember a lot of things – how to get to their classes, how to check in to their residence hall or how to find the closest coffee shop.
One thing they might forget is how to vote on campus.
Voting in a new city, or even a new state, can be confusing. Among other things, you must register to vote in the area and figure out where the closest voting location is. These obstacles might be part of the reason that college student voter turnout has historically been lower than other demographics.
However, in 2020, 66 percent of college students voted, a record-high. It was 14 percent higher than college students' turnout in the 2016 election, according to the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education.
Perhaps students are realizing that when you cast a vote, you wield the power to choose who represents your voice.
Midterm elections, like the one this coming fall, often have much lower turnout rates than presidential elections. Voter turnout among those aged 18 to 29 was 36 percent in 2018, according to the United States Census Bureau.
These elections are arguably the most important because they designate local offices that could be decided by a margin of just a few votes. Local elected officials directly impact a college student’s life and community.
Offices that represent Orange County that are to be decided in the 2022 statewide general election include the Fourth District in the U.S. House of Representatives, North Carolina Senate District 23, N.C. House of Representatives District 50, the third and fifth N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice seats, and the United States Senate.
