Overview
Each year, the boards of election in all 100 North Carolina counties must approve all of the polling locations for voting. Across North Carolina, voting sites on college campuses increase the turnout of young voters, but new election board composition may change those locations.
What you need to know
The A.K. Hinds University Center sits just behind the alumni clock tower on the Western Carolina University campus. The building holds meeting rooms, the post office, a movie theatre, and often during election time – a polling place. That may change in 2026.
Each year, the boards of election in all 100 North Carolina counties must approve all of the polling locations for voting. In November, discussions began for early voting locations for the March primary election, including whether to have polling spots on college campuses.
Early meetings yielded public pushback over potential closures of early voting locations on campuses including UNC-Greensboro and NC A&T. This week, Western Carolina University joined the list of schools where voting sites are in question.
What is the impact of young voters in North Carolina?
Young voters, defined as those ages 18 to 25, made up the smallest percentage of voters in North Carolina’s last general election, according to the NC Board of Elections.
NC politics expert and WCU Professor Chris Cooper explained that young people are less likely to turn out to vote.
“You’re the least stable. You’re less likely to own a house. You’re less likely to have a lot of the things we associate with voting,” Cooper said.
Not surprisingly, counties with large universities see higher numbers of young voters. In 2024, Watauga County and Jackson County respectively had the two highest percentages of young voters.
In Watauga County – where Appalachian State University is located in Boone – 28% of voters were young people in 2024. In Jackson County – the location of WCU – young people made up 17% of the county voters.
How many polling locations are on college campuses?
Cooper tracked the number of voting locations on college campuses during both primary and general elections from 2008 to 2026.
“If you look at all of the public universities, all the UNC system schools plus Duke and plus Elon, what you find is that roughly half have them at some point and roughly half don’t,” Cooper said.
There are voting locations at 18 colleges across the state but they vary from year to year. Many boards opt not to have voting locations on college campuses during municipal election years but add the locations during years that there are presidential elections.
Some institutions, like Elizabeth City State University and UNC-Asheville, may have a polling site for a general election but not for a primary. Others, like UNC-Wilmington, do not have any on-campus voting spots.
Does it matter if the site is an early voting location?
Cooper said the presence of an early voting site may have more impact than an Election Day location because early voting allows same day registration. College students often need to change their voter registration or register for the first time, he said.
“A lot of our students want to be civically engaged and it’s just a matter of making sure that we’re there to help provide that information and how to vote and that kind of thing,” Jenna Kubiak, assistant director at WCU’s Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, said.
“We have tons of first-time voters and same-day registrations. In the 2024 general election, 64% of same-day registrations were from WCU,” Kubiak said.
Voters can also cast a ballot at any polling site during early voting but are confined to their assigned precinct for Election day.
Cooper said that an increasing number of early voting sites in the state has increased the number of young people voting.
“It has driven down the average age of voters in these places and it has slightly driven up the voter turnout of young people, “ Cooper said.
How many college locations/counties have approved their early voting plans for the primary?
There are about 10 counties with college voting sites that haven’t announced their plans yet.
The deadline to have an early voting plan to the state is Dec. 19, and early voting for the primary begins Feb. 12.
When and how are voting plans made?
Each county board has five members who are registered voters in that county. Four are chosen by the State Board of Elections who appoints two Democrats and two Republicans. The fifth, the chair, is selected by the State Auditor- a recent change in the process.
Until last year the governor appointed the chair of each county board. A new law moved management of the state board to the state auditor. Then Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov.-Elect Josh Stein appealed the decision in Dec 2024, but a three-judge panel upheld the change.
Stein appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court in April 2025 but no decision has been issued..
In May, State Auditor Dave Boliek reappointed three members of the state board and appointed two new Republican members,
.The state board is now made up of three Republicans and two Democrats. In June, Boliek appointed new county chairs, all Republicans, giving the GOP a majority on all in 100 county election boards.
These new boards are now making early voting plans for the first time.
County boards create election plans, including polling locations, for every primary and general election. County boards must be unanimous in their plans. Otherwise, the decision moves to the state level.
“If it is a non-unanimous plan that does have to go to the state board and the state board will listen to the minority plan, the majority plan, and the state board also has the option to implement their own plan,” Jackson County Board of Elections Director Amanda Allen said.
What happened in Jackson County this week?
The Jackson County elections plan previously included a voting site on at the A.K. Hinds University Center on the campus of Western Carolina University, but in a vote on Tuesday, the County Board of Elections voted to consolidate two early voting sites into one polling location at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. The location is less than two miles away from the current polling place on campus.
The board’s three Republicans approved the consolidation with the two Democrats opposing the measure.
The Recreation Center lies across four lanes of traffic with no sidewalk, according to Jackson County Board of Elections Director Amanda Allen. There isn’t a regular bus between the locations, but the WCU Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning has used vans to take students to polling locations in the past.
The two Democratic board members, Roy Osborn and Betsy Swift, presented a plan to consolidate early voting in Cullowhee to the Health and Human Sciences building which is down Little Savannah Rd.
Chairman Bill Thompson said during his presentation that the two campus locations were not accessible enough because of complicated stairs and a lack of parking. WCU officials who spoke during the meeting confirmed that parking would be reserved for voters during early voting.
“We can provide 20 to 30 designated voter parking spots including curbside and ADA parking. The CatTran also goes to the HHS building, as health and human sciences, reducing a transportation barrier for our students, 64% of whom do not have a car on campus, “ Kubiak said during the meeting.
Thompson said his son, who is a WCU student, frequently parks at the Cullowhee Post Office and then walks the half-mile from Little Savannah Rd to campus because of the lack of parking.
Thompson said it would be hard for older voters to use the alternative option of the WCU Health and Human Sciences building on campus because of stairs and a lack of accessibility.
WCU spokesperson Julia Duvall confirmed to NC Local on Wednesday morning that both potential polling locations on WCU’s campus are ADA compliant and that parking would be reserved during elections.
“This lot provides direct access to the second floor and the multipurpose room—no stairs or elevator required,” Duvall said in an email.
The university also confirmed that it has historically provided the University Center to the Board of Elections free of charge, with poll worker costs as the only expense. The same arrangement would have applied to the HHS Building, Duvall confirmed. This deal also includes reserved ADA and curbside spots as well as other parking, additional directional signage at both locations during elections.
Concerns about voter access
During public comment, 21 people spoke in favor of keeping two sites while two voiced support for removing the WCU polling location. Many speakers called the consolidation disenfranchisement and voter suppression.
Thompson pushed back against the idea that the single location keeps people from voting.
“I know you think, oh because it’s not walkable, it’s disenfranchisement. Well, then I’ve been disenfranchised all my life because I’ve never had a parking or a voting area that I could walk to. I do not consider myself to be disenfranchised or suppressed,” he said.
Democratic board member Betsy Swift disagreed.
“None of us intends to suppress student turnout, but the impact will be to suppress student turnout,” Swift said during the meeting.
What’s next at WCU
Allen said the deadline to have an early voting plan to the state is Dec. 19.
Because the Board’s vote was non-unanimous it will now be reported to the State Board of Elections. This includes the majority plan and minority plan that were presented Tuesday.
The SBE will review the plans and hear presentations from both sides. The state board will then be able to approve, modify or replace the county plans including the locations, days and hours.
A date has not been determined for the SBE’s addressing of non-unanimous plans or the approval of unanimous plans, according to Allen. Early voting for the 2026 primary begins Feb. 12.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
