Judge rules Appalachian State must have early voting
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens has sent an early-voting plan for Watauga County back to the State Board of Elections with an order that it include an early-voting site on the campus of Appalachian State University.
Students in Boone sued the State Board in September after it implemented an early-voting plan favored by Republicans on the Watauga County Board of Elections that included only one early-voting site in Boone that was not on the ASU campus.
There has been an on-campus early-voting site in past elections. The students argued the new plan unconstitutionally discriminated against young voters.
They pointed out that 30 percent of registered voters in Watauga County are between the ages of 18 and 25 and that ASU is the largest employer in the county, with 3,000 employees.
The State Board of Elections must decide whether to appeal the ruling. In-person early voting begins Oct. 23.
