By Mary McLean, Staff Writer

Published in print Nov.12, 2014

College voters, like the student population of UNCG, are a key demographic in North Carolina. In a state that is going through revolutionary changes and upheaval in it’s political landscape, the choices of young, even first-time, voters matter more and more.

The evidence of this was hard to miss in the months leading up to Election Day. Voter registration advocates could be found at every turn, making eye contact with you at corners while you were on your way to class or in the library while you are trying to study. But despite their valiant (and extremely persistent) efforts, not all students got the message and were unable to vote on Tuesday.

“Oh, I wasn’t able to vote,” said Junior Simone Branon. “It turned out I was still registered in Raleigh, and I couldn’t do a fast registration thingy. I walked like 20 minutes to the polling station so I was a little upset, but I guess it was my own fault.”

Registration confusion also proved to be a problem at the on-campus polling place in the EUC Maple room. Multiple disorganized lines twisted out the door and into the hallway, and many students came only to be pointed somewhere else, being unaware in order to vote in the on campus polling place you had to live on campus.

However, UNCG still fared better in this regard than some other UNC system schools, including N.C. State, Duke, East Carolina University and UNC Charlotte, who had their on campus early voting and day-of polling places eliminated.

“I had heard that they passed a law that if you were registered in a different precinct as your parents they couldn’t claim you as dependent on their taxes or something,” said Junior Craig Supples. “I was really confused.”

While this was in fact a provision within a piece of legislation proposed in the N.C. senate, it was not passed or made into law. The worry was enough for Supples however, and in the end he did not end up registering to vote.

For those who were successfully registered and made it to the correct polling place however, the voting process was relatively painless.

“I sat on the porch with some friends and we looked up all the candidates and what their policies were and what they were promoting, and then I made the like ten minute walk to the Province,” said Krista Blaser, a UNCG junior who lives off campus. “It wasn’t too busy.”

A lot of that success should be attributed to dedicated and efficient poll workers, who experienced a day full of answering the same questions over and over, explaining how to use the ballot and peeling countless stickers.

They managed to serve students and residents alike in the game room of The Province, with a line of people wrapped around a pool table and a shiny, mirrored bar.

“It’s a long day but it is actually a lot of fun,” said one poll worker at The Province. Most voters left with a sticker and a smile, satisfied with having done their civic duty.

Ultimately though, after the results were revealed on Wednesday, many on campus were left with a bad taste in their mouth.

Guilford County, along with Wake, Hyde, and Mecklenburg, appeared as a spot of blue in the sea of red that represented voter’s choices in North Carolina. An outpouring of frustration and dissatisfaction appeared on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

“And yet again America, you disappoint me and fail to surprise me all in one fell swoop,” wrote one dissatisfied student.

Whatever your political views, it is undeniable that this year’s mid-term elections will have far reaching consequences, for UNCG students and beyond.