They left campus on foot — with signs raised, chants echoing across the valley under clear blue winter skies — turning a routine civic act into a noisy, high-visibility public rebuke.

On Feb. 13, roughly 50 Western Carolina University students marched exactly 1.53 miles from the center of campus to the Cullowhee Recreation Center after the Republican-led Jackson County Board of Elections, later backed by the Republican-led State Board of Elections, voted to close their longtime on-campus early voting site.

What had once been a five-minute walk to the on-campus voting site became a 35- to 40-minute trek along a busy four-lane rural highway with no sidewalks, no streetlights, no guardrails and just one crosswalk.

The demonstration, organized by WCU’s College Democrats but joined by students from multiple campus organizations, including the Trans Student Union, the Revolutionary Book Club and Accessibility Western, was designed to make visible what organizers say county and state officials made invisible — the distance between students and the ballot box.

With bipartisan support, the on-campus voting site was established in 2016, providing for early voting inside the University Center — an accessible, centrally located building steps from dorms, classrooms and dining halls. Students could cast a ballot between classes, on a lunch break or before a shift at an on-campus job.

That changed in December 2024 when the Jackson County Board of Elections approved an early voting plan that removed the campus site — against the overwhelming opposition of those who would be affected by the change.

Board of Elections officials argued the change would streamline operations and reduce costs tied to staffing and equipment.

Depending on whom one chooses to believe, the projected savings, according to figures presented during public meetings, is estimated to be between $6,000 and $20,000 — a tiny fraction of the county’s $107 million annual budget.

Critics questioned whether the financial savings justified the disruption. Faculty members, students and voting advocates warned the closure would disproportionately affect young voters of all political affiliations, more than 64% of whom do not own vehicles. Public comment sessions drew packed rooms and lengthy testimony.

When the State Board of Elections later rubber-stamped the county’s plan without modification, frustration hardened into action.

A George W. Bush-appointed federal judge in Greensboro rejected a request by the College Democrats of North Carolina and several students to order early voting sites restored on the campuses of Western Carolina University, North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro — finding that forcing elections boards to add the sites so close to early voting could cause “confusion.”

That the site was targeted for closing at all is a direct consequence of actions the Republican-led General Assembly took in the wake of disgraced Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s loss to then-Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, in the November 2024 gubernatorial contest. 

Under decades-old law, governors had appointed members to the state and county elections boards. On Dec. 11, 2024, tucked away in a disaster relief bill that contained no actual disaster relief, Republican legislators reassigned those powers to one of the Council of State offices they did manage to win — state auditor. Consequently, all 100 county boards of elections and the State Board itself flipped to 3-2 Republican control last summer.

Using results from the 2024 Primary Election, removing the WCU early voting site creates new barriers for students, faculty and staff, with a heavier impact on voters who have tended to back Democratic candidates.

During early voting that year, 345 voters requested Democratic presidential preference ballots, making it the third-busiest Democratic early voting site among Jackson County’s five locations. More Democrats voted early at WCU than in any single Election Day precinct, even though Democratic turnout may have been dampened by President Joe Biden’s lack of primary opposition.

In contrast, only 182 voters at WCU pulled Republican presidential preference ballots, despite more than half a dozen GOP candidates — including Donald Trump — being on the ballot. That total ranked WCU fourth out of five early voting sites for Republicans and 10th out of the county’s 20 precincts and early voting options overall. Notably, former South Carolina governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley narrowly carried GOP early voting at WCU, defeating Trump 86 to 81.

Overall, WCU was a favored early voting site for Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans, while drawing average Republican turnout.

“It was clear from the get-go that the [Jackson County Board of Elections] wanted to see this site close,” said Zach Powell, a political science major and president of WCU’s College Democrats.

The purpose of the march, according to Powell, was not merely symbolic theater but instead a statement of persistence.

“The point of this is to demonstrate that regardless of what obstacles you put in the students’ path, we're going to get to the polls,” Powell said.

Beyond Cullowhee, students at North Carolina A&T held a similar walk on Feb. 12 after changes affected their own campus voting arrangements. Organizers there also emphasized turnout and accessibility rather than party.

At WCU, administrators didn’t exactly move quickly to mitigate the impact; Chancellor Kelli Brown refused to comment on the situation prior to the votes, to the dismay of some students. The university did go on to institute a free shuttle service at its own expense to ferry students from campus to the Cullowhee Recreation Center during early voting; however, the shuttle operates only from noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays and does not run on weekends.

Early voting hours extend from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the week, with Saturday voting scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28. The limited shuttle schedule leaves morning, evening and weekend voters responsible for arranging their own transportation — or walking down that unlit, unpaved, unsafe, busy four-lane rural highway.

The shuttle’s 30-minute loop also stretches what was once a brief errand into a time commitment approaching an hour round trip. For students studying full-time, participating in campus organizations or working part-time jobs, that hour carries weight.

During the march, some drivers honked in support, but students were heckled repeatedly by others.

While the March 3 Primary remains the immediate focus, the election calendar extends beyond a single date — under North Carolina law, certain primary contests can trigger a runoff if no candidate meets the required threshold. It remains unclear whether any race on the local ballot will require a runoff, but the possibility introduces another logistical challenge — a lower-turnout runoff election held weeks later could require the same coordination effort with fewer participants and less momentum.

Powell said organizers would regroup if necessary.

Looking toward the General Election in October and November, students acknowledge that the same obstacles will remain unless policy changes occur. Early voting hours will again stretch from morning to evening. Weekend days will again be included. The shuttle schedule, unless expanded, will again leave significant gaps.

College Democrats Vice President Seth Digh, likely successor to Powell once Powell leaves WCU this spring to pursue his MPA at N.C. State University, said the work will indeed extend beyond one march.

“This issue affects everybody on both sides of the aisle, so I think throughout the semester we’ll be drumming up awareness for this as an issue that we're passionate about as Western students and as voters, too,” Digh said. “That's kind of the backbone of this march to the polls. This is not a partisan event. This is put on by the College Dems, but in an effort to bring everybody out to the polling site.”

The march also included candidates in Jackson County’s upcoming Primary Election — John Herrera, Bobbi Hopp and Casey Walawender — as well as elected officials Brad Reisinger, a Town of Webster council member and WCU English professor, and Lindsey Prather, a member of North Carolina’s General Assembly who represents part of Asheville and earned her MPA at WCU.

It concluded at the Cullowhee Recreation Center without significant incident, where students filtered inside to cast ballots.

Brandon Teague, a double major in political science and history from Taylorsville in rural Alexander County, said he has only voted twice in his life — and only at WCU.

“As somebody that's taking 18 credit hours and working two campus jobs, my schedule is packed already,” Teague said, adding that he doesn’t own a car.

After marching with fellow students to the early voting site, Teague reflected on what this particular vote meant to him.

“Not being able to just walk into the University Center on campus and having to walk 40 minutes on the side of traffic with people yelling at us — it was definitely a little bit more symbolic this time,” he said.

The Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines to allow the closure of a Democrat-leaning early voting site at Western Carolina University, against overwhelming opposition from the people the closure would affect.

In-person early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 1, but voters will have one last opportunity to cast their ballots on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 4.

Same-day registration is only available during the early voting period. Voters cannot register to vote on Election Day. 

In-person early voting continues through Saturday, Nov. 1. Voters can vote in-person at their county board of elections and are able to register to vote the same day if necessary. 

Hours of operation can vary among polling places. Voters can find their polling place and the operating hours by checking voter registration at vt.ncsbe.gov. 

Like many municipalities this year, Franklin will have competitive races on its ballot, as five people are running for three council seats and two men will square off to see who will be the town’s next mayor. 

Voters had a chance on Sept. 25 to attend a forum featuring each of the candidates, during which they were asked questions that allowed them talk about their backgrounds and some of the most pressing issues facing the town.

Indivisible Commonground WNC will host a free candidate forum for the upcoming Sylva Board of Commissioners municipal election on Thursday, Aug. 21 at the Jackson County Public Library. The event will be held in the Community Room from 6-7:30 p.m. 

Before he was sworn in on Jan. 20, Donald Trump had a lot to say about the agenda he plans to pursue during his final term as president.

In-person early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., but voters will still have one last opportunity to cast their ballots on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

Voters can cast their ballots in-person starting Thursday, Oct. 17. Same day, in-person registration is also available at polling locations. 

Voting is going to look a bit different in North Carolina this year thanks to new partisan observers who will be eyeing voters as they cast ballots when in-person early voting kicks off in October. The new observers are touted as a way to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.