UNC students ask to pause classes on Election Day to increase voter turnout on campus
Lamar Richards, a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill, is voting in his first election this fall and doesn’t want to see another drop in voter turnout among Black college students. He’s asking the UNC System to help make that happen by canceling classes on Election Day.
Richards and about a dozen other UNC student leaders sent a letter to UNC-CH Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and UNC System President Peter Hans asking the administration to pause classes and campus operations on Nov. 3 so that students, faculty and staff can vote in-person.
“This election is important like none other,” Richards said. “And in order to allow students to vote free of academic obligations and for our ... staff and faculty alike to vote free of employee obligations is to cancel class on Election Day.”
Late Friday afternoon, UNC-CH Vice Chancellor for University Communications Joel Curran said the university won’t be able to make Election Day an academic holiday.
“Due to our greatly compressed academic calendar, we are unable to make that accommodation,” Curran said in a statement. “It is important for our students, faculty and staff to exercise their right to vote, and we encourage all of our Carolina community to plan ahead now and take advantage of the many options they’ll have to cast their ballot up to and on November 3.”
University Libraries is hosting events to help students make a voting plan whether they are voting absentee or in person, early or on Election Day, and in Chapel Hill or back home. UNC-CH has also shared resources to educate students about how to register and vote in the election since the university moved to remote instruction, closed dorms and reduced the number of students on campus.
Removing barriers for voters of color
Many systemic barriers prevent low-income students and marginalized workers from voting, which disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities of color, the students’ letter says. It also cites low voter participation in the 2016 election, particularly among students and minority groups.
Coming off the heels of a “testing and trying” summer with nationwide Black Lives Matter protests and an investigation of officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, that ended with the indictment of one police officer but without any charges in Taylor’s death, this election is an opportunity for Black individuals to use their voice, Richards said.
“We have to come galvanized as a race, as a culture, as a community to say that we’ve had enough,” Richards said. “The only way we can actually say that and make people feel that is true, is by engaging in voting.”
That vote matters whether students are casting a ballot for Republican, Democrat or grassroots candidates, he said. And those individuals are voting for so many other things than just who will be the next president.
“We have so many federal and local elections also happening,” Richards said, citing the contentious U.S. Senate race in his home state of South Carolina and school board elections.
The students are asking the system to pause campus operations at all UNC System schools and give students, faculty and staff the day off to exercise their civic responsibility that day.
“If even one student makes the personal choice of academic commitment over civic responsibility, then the University has failed to encourage civic-minded and well-rounded leaders willing to contribute to the democracy of the country we all know and love,” the letter said. “We make this request for the sake of democracy in our Country.”
Some administrators and faculty members can afford to come in late, leave early or take the day off, Richards said. But many staff members, like housekeepers and groundskeepers, cannot afford to miss any time at work because they need the money and don’t have the flexibility, he said.
“It should never be... ‘can I vote or should I go to work?’” Richards said.
Richards said student leaders are meeting with UNC-CH and UNC System administrators to discuss the issue.
After sending the letter, they were told it is very unlikely that classes will be canceled due to accreditation issues, learning outcomes and this year’s condensed schedule, Richards said. But, he’s optimistic that they can find a solution.
Students are currently working on a proposal that will allow them to “be in class” asynchronously that day so that lectures are recorded and no assignments will be due. UNC-CH made the switch to online classes this fall as COVID-19 was spreading on campus, so many classes are already offered in that asynchronous format. Students also suggested that UNC suspend classes after 2 p.m. on Election Day, if they can’t get the full day off.
The UNC System did not respond to an email and call from The News & Observer Friday afternoon asking for comment on the letter.
Concerns about mail-in and early voting
This year, there’s been a drive to get people to vote early or cast mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic. But with the condensed academic schedule, no fall break or Labor Day holiday and concerns about mail-in voting, students say some will be less likely to engage in early voting.
“A lot of my peers, my friends, even my family members and older adults I know are questioning whether or not their vote will get counted if they mail it in,” said UNC-CH junior Sarah Bradley, a student leader who also signed the letter.
In North Carolina, anyone can vote by mail, and voters can track ballots with an app known as BallotTrax. Details are available online at northcarolina.ballottrax.net. A court has ordered the state to give voters “due process” to fix any problems with their mail-in ballots.
People who are immunocompromised or concerned about COVID-19 might avoid voting early at the polls because they don’t think it’s safe, Bradley said. Then come Election Day, they might decide it’s too important to miss but face another responsibility that day or see long lines at the voting location.
Students said they are also stressed and busy managing part-time jobs, while trying to take a full course load at home during a global pandemic. Their schedules are packed and they don’t feel like they can miss whatever academic or extracurricular commitments they have, Bradley said.
“This level of anxiety about voting is something that I’m concerned about,” Bradley said.
Having the day off from classes would help alleviate that, she said.
Many graduate students are also busy with second jobs, studying for midterms and dealing with family obligations.
“It’s really difficult to try to balance the responsibility of having classes and trying to make it to the polls for early voting,” law student Maian Adams said. “I would hope that the university creates this opportunity for students, faculty and staff.”
Adams is also the chief of external relations and advocacy for the graduate and professional student federation. She and other graduate student leaders have been working hard all semester to get information out about how to register, where candidates stand on issues, important dates for voting and how to submit an absentee ballot.
Those efforts to get students registered and out to the polls is also different this year as students are studying remotely back home or in their apartments. Some students are trying to set up virtual events on Zoom because students aren’t walking around campus stopping at tables to fill out forms or attending parties put on by student organizations this year.
Support across NC campuses
Student leaders from all 16 universities in the system will discuss the issue Friday at the first UNC Association of Student Governments meeting of the fall semester, ASG President Isaiah Green said.
“If we as a public institution really believe in people getting out and having the opportunity to vote, it’s our job to make it as easy as possible,” Green said. “We shouldn’t be an obstacle.”
Green, a senior at UNC Asheville, said this meeting is an opportunity for them to come together and advocate for the issues that are important to the quarter of a million students in the UNC System. He said having the time off to vote is important to a lot of students and it’s his job in this role to make sure their voices are heard.
“I think it’s power in numbers,” he said.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 2:49 PM with the headline "UNC students ask to pause classes on Election Day to increase voter turnout on campus."
