�������

Early voting has begun in what could be the most consequential test of American democracy in recent history. 

At �������, students are paying attention—and mobilizing.

Early-voting turnout in the town of ������� for the spring primary increased by 186 percent from 2016—the second-largest increase in North Carolina. The voting spike followed the ������� Votes drive organized by the student-led Center for Political Engagement (CPE) and aimed at registering every eligible voter. CPE leaders encouraged students to vote before their spring break, which fell during the N.C. primaries, and likely contributed to the bump in turnout.

CPE is expecting a similar trend and is urging people to use mail-in ballots, or vote early—and safely—in person for the general election. North Carolina’s early voting begins on Thursday and ends Oct. 31.

�������’s athletic teams have also stepped up registration efforts. All eligible voter athletes on most of the college’s sports teams, including football, basketball, soccer and swim, are registered and ready.

“To say my students are keenly interested in Election 2020 is an understatement,” said Political Science Professor Susan Roberts. “Zoom chats can’t replace the ‘just talking politics’ coffees we’d have in other times, but the energy is still there.”

Students in her “Presidency” class work in groups to track five battleground states: North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. They’ve gathered demographic data, electoral histories and election laws in their assigned states. They’ve followed polling numbers, endorsements, advertising and candidate visits. They’re talking to journalists, college professors and campaign managers in those states.

And they’ve closely watched the presidential and vice-presidential debates. When Roberts assigned the group project in 2016, her students correctly predicted that Trump would win Pennsylvania and Michigan.

“They were more prescient than the pundits,” she said.

On campus and online, students are campaigning, organizing and energizing—on all sides and behind the scenes.

Cora Martin ’21

Cora Martin works to ensure the next president will be sworn in with a list of political appointees who’ve been vetted and approved for service before inauguration day.

Martin took the semester off to work at the Center for Presidential Transition, a non-partisan Washington, D.C., non-profit that helps whoever gets elected have a team in place. As the communications intern, she researches and writes newsletters, and helps with podcasts and social media.

“It’s all about creating institutions that are fair and impactful and efficient,” Martin said. “This is a really behind-the-scenes process and it requires planning far before the election.”

In the days between the election and inauguration, the newly elected administration has to make some 4,000 presidential appointments. The Center provides published resources, including the Transition Guide, and hosts events for transition teams to meet with experts.

Martin, a history major with a minor in economics, works remotely from her home in Kansas City, Missouri, where she grew up on politics and government service. She has relatives who’ve served in diplomacy, foreign aid and economic advisory roles. Her father, Richard Martin, ran former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s winning campaign in 2006 in an upset race against a Republican incumbent.

Before starting her current position, Martin spent the summer as a campaign fellow for Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Barbara Bollier in Kansas. She’s researched and listened to various experts describing scenarios for the upcoming elections.

“There are a number of threats facing our democratic election, with foreign interference in hacking attempts and trying to remove people from the voting rolls,” Martin said. “Voting is one of the only ways that people feel empowered, it’s important that they have their say.”

For now, she’s hoping her non-partisan role will help assure a smooth start to the next presidential term.

“We are dealing with a lot of crisis right now,” Martin said. “Whoever our next president is needs to focus on that the minute he’s elected.”

Maya Pillai ’21

Maya Pillai is concentrating on the down ballot.

With most attention focused on the presidential and U.S. Senate races, she’s encouraging people to also get out for state, local and judicial contests.

Pillai, president of the ������� Republicans, is dropping campaign literature off on front doors in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties and talking to residents about GOP candidates in North Carolina—that includes Republican challenger Dan Forest’s campaign against North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. In May, Pillai led a “ReopenMeck” rally in Charlotte to protest Cooper’s decision to keep schools and businesses closed during the pandemic.

She’s also delivering campaign signs and attending candidate “meet-and-greet” events.

Pillai, administrative vice chair of the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans, is considered a rising star in the party. She’s the product of a politically mixed marriage: Her Republican father listens to conservative talk radio and watches Fox News; her Democratic mother watches CNN.

“I’ve been exposed to both sides of issues all of my life,” she said. “As a female, and as a minority, I see more opportunity in the Republican party.”

A history and Hispanic Studies double major, Pillai hopes to someday go into politics. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is her political role model.

Like Haley, Pillai is the daughter of Indian immigrants. Pillai hopes to see Haley become president someday. For now, she’ll support Trump, her party’s nominee.

“Each candidate has flaws. Vice-President Biden is a career politician,” Pillai said. “President Trump is a businessman. I’m not saying that every policy of his is right. And some of the things he’s said are cringeworthy. But overall, he has implemented certain policies that have helped people in this country, such as reducing taxes to make sure hardworking individuals have more money in their pockets.”

Brandon Harris ’22

As the election nears, Student Government Association President Brandon Harris keeps urging people to vote, and wants to help in any way he can.

The SGA teamed up with CPE to distribute an online survey to all students to see what they need to vote, such as safe transportation to the polls if they’re voting in person. When students return the survey, the SGA will help where needed, Harris says.

For Harris, this election is crucial.

He believes Trump condones racism and discrimination, pointing to his anti-immigrant rhetoric and refusal to denounce white supremacists. Harris is critical of Trump’s handling of the novel coronavirus, which has disproportionately harmed Black, Latino and Indigenous people.

“As a young Black person, this directly affects me in many ways,” Harris said. “I have family members who struggle with health disorders and he’s trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act during a pandemic. I have close friends who live in fear of being deported, and that threat will only grow if he’s reelected. With COVID, if we had a leader who had followed the science, maybe so many people wouldn’t have died.”

Harris says it’s frightening that Trump continues to allege mail-in ballot fraud, and that he’s refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he doesn’t win.

Biden will get Harris’s vote.

A philosophy major from Annapolis, Maryland, Harris says he may someday go into politics. In the meantime, he sees his mission as making sure all students realize how important voting is.

“I’m telling everyone I can, ‘make sure you’re registered, and make sure you vote.’ Everyone should be exercising their right to vote,” Harris said.

“The survival of our democracy depends on it.”