ECU community, city push for more student votes in upcoming election

Early voting for Greenville’s local elections started on Oct. 19, and election day is now just seven days away on Nov. 7. East Carolina University’s administration and city officials are making the last push to attract more student voters.

“In my honest opinion, a large number of ECU students have no idea about municipal elections,” said Tony McQueen, associate director of the Pitt County Board of Education. “But they’re not alone, it’s all registered voters. We have our lowest turnouts, historically, for municipal elections.”

McQueen said voters focus on presidential elections every four years, but the number of ECU students who vote municipally “is quite small.”

Carmine Scavo, a political science professor, said ECU students register and vote in Greenville but may not have access to enough information.

“While their votes for higher level (national or state) offices are typically very informed, their votes in city or local elections often may not be as informed,” Scavo said. “Part of the reason for that is that it is simply more difficult to gather information in local elections. As one drives around Greenville, for example, one can see large signs saying ‘Vote for X’ but there is little information as to why one would want to vote for X.”

Scavo said there was a forum on Oct. 24 that a large number of people attended, but not many students were present. He said the candidates all shared similar opinions regarding several issues, making it “difficult” for voters to determine who to vote for.

“Who is opposed to public safety?” Scavo said. “Who likes dilapidated housing? Who is opposed to increasing the number of good jobs in the city, and so on?”

Dave Davis, director of Pitt County Board of Elections, said it is hard to know how many ECU students voted in local elections, because it is not known who, out of that age demographic, is enrolled at the university.

“The students that we have noticed seem to vote in groups, rarely ever voting alone,” Davis said.

Alex Dennis, associate director for the Center of Leadership and Civic Engagement, said in an emailed statement to The East Carolinian, some ECU students are involved and informed while others are not as engaged.

“Part of this depends on whether or not a student is registered to vote here in Greenville, if they are registered to vote back in their hometown, or not registered at all,” Dennis said. “Typically, we see more students wanting to register to vote here in Greenville after they move off campus and begin seeing ECU/Greenville as home.”

Dennis said low voter turnout in local elections involves more factors than just college students.

“There is also a belief that national elections are more important than local elections,” Dennis said, “Which is definitely not the case, because so much of our daily lives ― police protection, schools, sales taxes, fire protection, etcetera ― is administered by local and state government.”

Haley Creef, a Vote Everywhere ambassador at ECU, said she thinks students aren’t educated enough about elections or candidates.

“National elections are constantly advertised, whether that be through news, word-of-mouth, social media, articles, etcetera,” Creef, who is also the student body treasurer for the Student Government Association, said. “Those elections are constantly talked about. However, local politics do not receive this type of hype and therefore, there is a lack of knowledge on the local elections.”

Creef said the lack of knowledge is partly because the majority of students are not from Greenville and Pitt County and are not familiar with the area, or they want to stay a registered voter where their hometown is.

The Vote Everywhere program was established through a national non-profit called the Andrew Goodman Foundation, created in 1966. The foundation was created by Robert and Carolyn Goodman to “carry on the spirit and the purpose of their son Andrew’s life,” who joined Freedom Summer 1964 to register African Americans to vote, Creef said.

“On his first day in Mississippi,” Creef said, “He (Andrew Goodman) and two other civil rights workers, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan.”

According to Creef, Vote Everywhere brings down voting barriers for disenfranchised voters, including African Americans and students.

Scavo asked students to learn as much as possible about Greenville and political and policy issues that City Council is considering.

“This means turning on local radio and television coverage and reading the local newspaper as well as listening to what the candidates for office have to say,” he said.

Dennis pointed students to the Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement in Mendenhall Student Center room 109, if they have questions about how to register to vote or for resources for local, state and national elections.

Dennis said students can visit Pitt County NC’s website to get information about municipal elections.

This site provides information about polling locations, candidate information, and you can even see a sample ballot,” Dennis said.

Taking a genuine interest in local politics is what Creef suggested.

“This is more than likely going to be your home for four, maybe five years,” Creef said. “Take a stand for what you believe in and exercise your right to vote. Local elections are where the most fundamental change can happen.”

McQueen said students need to stay informed and involved when it comes to politics that’ll especially directly impact them.

“The decisions made by local governments will have much more of an effect on their everyday lives than any state (or) federal body,” McQueen said.