After surge in voting rates four years ago, Republicans and Democrats target college students
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- While classes started Monday at UNC Chapel Hill, UNC College Republicans and UNC Young Democrats are already in full swing to connect with students ahead of the November election.
"We try to be the pipeline between students and elected officials here on campus," said Cecilia Derlone, a senior who serves as Vice President of UNC Young Democrats.
"We're trying to host every statewide candidate that we have and the ones that we can't host, we're trying to still interact with them in some way. Right now, we've got five of the ten council state candidates," explained Matthew Trott, a junior who is President of UNC College Republicans.
Both groups highlight voter registration efforts, particularly important on a campus where many students have never participated in an election.
"We are talking about things like border security, homelessness. The housing crisis is something that we actually do speak about as well," said Trott, who added the economy and DEI as other issues drawing attention.
"Reproductive rights, gun control, climate change and student loan debt. I feel those are the four that are most prominent to us," noted Derlon.
A report from Tufts Tisch College found that 50% of 18- to 29-year-olds voted in 2020, an increase of 11% from 2016. In North Carolina, the rate was 55%, including 53% of 18- and 19-year-olds.
"The number one issue for young voters is the economy. They look at when they come out of high school and especially college, and they see their prospects before them. They're concerned. They're nervous. They see that the American dream is now out of reach. They see being able to start a family, buy a car, buy a home, is now out of reach," said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons.
"We know that young people have the most at stake in this election, the issues they care about the rest of their lives ahead of them. They don't want someone that's taking away their reproductive rights. They don't want somebody that's going to ignore the realities of the climate crisis in this country. What you're going to see from this Vice President, from (the Democratic National Convention) this week, is an intense focus on those issues and reaching them where they are," Kevin Munoz, a Senior Spokesperson for Harris for President.
An April report from Pew Research found among registered 18-24-year-old voters, Democrats had a 32-point advantage. However, voters in that age group tend to participate at lower rates compared to older voters.
"I think the main obstacle that keeps students from voting from what we've experienced the last three years, is just people don't know about the process," said Derlon.
"A lot of college kids are not registered. Or if they are registered, they may not know about absentee ballots or other forms of voting," Trott noted.
This will be the first presidential election in which voter ID will be required. Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Elections approved the use of UNC Chapel Hill's digital student ID for the November election.
"I think there's enough flexibility within the statute for us to approve a digital card as a card. I think that's the way of the world," said Board of Elections Chairman Alan Hirsch, a Democrat. The 3-2 vote was along party lines.
"To be able to put forward the electronic IDs, that's concerning. We need more safeguards on that. We'll continue to monitor and review, and potentially take more actions on that," said Simmons.
