Campus Voting Cuts Spur Student Mobilization

Students in several battleground states are organizing to reach polling places after local election officials rejected or removed voting sites at universities. The changes have meant longer trips for students, including those without cars, and have prompted marches, transportation plans and voter-registration efforts.

At North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, roughly 300 students joined a march to an early-voting site after the county board rejected an on-campus location. Students from A&T, UNC Greensboro and nearby Bennett College had also sued over the lack of campus early-voting sites. A federal judge denied their request for a temporary order blocking the change. Student organizer Shia Rozier called the added burden “a modern-day poll tax.”

In Tarrant County, Texas, officials removed 92 previously approved polling locations, including the University of Texas at Arlington site, which had hosted voting since 2012. More than 8,000 people voted there early in 2024. A judge ruled against an effort to restore the locations. UT Arlington student leaders are organizing registration drives and free rides to polling places, student body president Andres Morales said.

Students at Ohio’s Central State University are also planning trips to vote after officials moved their nearest polling place to a church six miles away. The campus mobilizations come as students and voting-rights advocates challenge decisions they say make voting less accessible. Officials in North Carolina have said county boards decide where sites are needed, and that locations can vary between midterm and presidential elections.

Campus Polling Cuts Put Student Voting Rights at Risk

Removing campus polling places makes voting harder for students who lack cars, time or money—and the burden is especially visible at schools serving many students of color. In Greensboro, roughly 300 students from North Carolina A&T marched to an early-voting site after the county board rejected a campus location. Organizer Shia Rozier said the added costs and travel “essentially creates a modern-day poll tax.”

The problem extends beyond North Carolina. Tarrant County, Texas, removed 92 approved polling locations, including the University of Texas at Arlington site, where more than 8,000 people voted early in 2024. A judge rejected an effort to restore the locations. Student leaders are now arranging voter-registration drives and free rides.

At Ohio’s Central State University, students face a six-mile trip after election officials moved their nearest polling place. These decisions shift the work of making voting possible onto students, who are responding with marches and transportation plans. North Carolina officials say county boards decide where polling sites are needed, but that explanation does not erase the practical barriers students describe.

Local Polling Decisions Spark Student Drives to Vote

Changes to polling locations have become a test of whether election decisions made by local officials will deter student voters—or motivate them. In North Carolina, county officials rejected early-voting sites at North Carolina A&T and UNC Greensboro, and students answered with a march to a nearby polling place. A federal judge declined to temporarily block the decision.

Tarrant County, Texas, removed 92 previously approved polling locations, including the University of Texas at Arlington site. A judge rejected a bid to bring them back. Rather than stop organizing, UT Arlington students have arranged registration drives and free transportation, student body president Andres Morales said.

Students at Ohio’s Central State University are preparing for a six-mile journey to their nearest polling place after its move. The disputes show the tension between local decisions about where voting sites are placed and students’ calls for easier campus access. North Carolina election officials have said county boards determine whether sites are needed and that the number of locations can change between midterm and presidential elections. Across the campuses, students are responding by making plans to get voters to the polls.