'There’s nothing better than to be involved': Students organize for the 2024 Election

UNC student groups are ramping up efforts to engage students as the 2024 general election approaches in November. 

Both UNC Young Democrats and UNC College Republicans plan to host politicians on campus and hold voter registration drives as part of their campaigns targeted at students in the fall.

Sloan Duvall, a senior at the University and president of Young Democrats, the University's College Democrats chapter, said that young people are very excited for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s candidacy.

“These are two people who have spent their careers fighting for Americans, especially for young people and for women, and delivering real results,” Duvall said.

She said the Biden-Harris administration made the largest investment in climate in the nation’s history, canceled historic amounts of student loan debt, passed the first piece of bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly three decades and fought for reproductive rights and education.

Duvall shared concerns about Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign regarding the Project 2025 blueprint. She said the project will restrict access to abortion and eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

“UNC students need to know they’re voting in the most consequential election in their lifetime, and there's only one ticket that's going to support young people,” she said.

Matthew Trott, president of UNC College Republicans, said he is optimistic about the Trump-Vance ticket and that both candidates have many accomplishments.

“I'm very pleased with this ticket, because both of them, in many ways, represent the American dream,” Trott said.

He said his organization will host five of the Republican Council of State candidates — Secretary of State Candidate Chad Brown, Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate Michele Morrow, Treasurer Candidate Brad Briner, Labor Commissioner Candidate Luke Farley and Attorney General Candidate Rep. Dan Bishop.

Trott said College Republicans hopes to host all the Republican Council of State candidates before November, saying that details will soon be posted on the group’s Instagram account.

If Republicans maintain control of the Council of State, Trott said that it would mean the UNC Board of Trustees would remain conservative for the near future.

The BOT has 15 members, with eight elected by the UNC Board of Governors and six appointed by the N.C. General Assembly, with the remaining and ex-officio member being the UNC Student Body President. The BOG has 24 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly, along with the president of the UNC Association of Student Governments serving as an ex-officio, nonvoting member.

“The goal is to help UNC students connect with statewide and local candidates so that they can know who they are to understand their policies and make more informed decisions,” Trott said.

Duvall said her organization's goal is to register student voters and educate them before the November election.

Last spring, the chapter made the goal to host every statewide democratic candidate on UNC campus, including Gubernatorial Candidate, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein and State Treasurer Candidate, Rep. Wesley Harris. Duvall said the Young Democrats will continue to pursue the goal in the fall semester.

Professor of Political Science Marc Hetherington said young voters participate in elections at lower levels than older voters.

Hetherington said that the types of issues and ideas that politicians talk about often don't reflect the interest of groups that are not big participators in elections, specifically the younger demographic.

He said this is a unique time in American history because the election outcome will come down to only a few thousand votes, saying when he was a young adult, outcomes were not as narrow and there was a clear idea of who was going to win.

“I think sometimes people forget that if a generation or any group is really different in their views and the election is really close, then there’s nothing better than to be involved,” he said.

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