WCU Votes

It's important to know the facts behind candidates and how the voting process works in our country.

WCU Programs

• Constitution Day: Friday, 9/16, 11am-1pm, Catafount
• National Voter Registration Day: Tuesday, 9/20, 5-8pm, Catafount
• National Voter Education Week: October 3-7
  • Voter Registration Tabling: Mon/Wed/Fri, 10am-noon, UC Lawn
• Jackson Co. Commissioners' Debate: Tuesday, 10/11, 6:30pm, UC Theater
• Voter Education Panel: Wednesday, 10/26, 6pm, UC Theater
• Democracy Day: Friday, 10/28, 11am-1pm, Catafount
• Voter Registration Drives- FInd SDC tabling around campus! 

Voting by mail educational videos:

• How Do I Vote by Mail?
• Myths vs. Facts

Jackson County voting basics

Find your sample ballot

ABSENTEE BALLOT INFORMATION

Sometimes the process of voting and registering to vote can be confusing. Here are a few helpful tips when registering to vote at WCU:

• Online Registration: If you have a valid North Carolina ID and know your social security number you can vote online! Just follow the six steps below - or follow this flowchart.
  1. Visit https://payments.ncdot.gov/
  2. Click "Continue to myNCDMV Services"
  3. Select "Continue as a guest"
  4. Click "Submit a voter registration application"
  5. Enter your NC Driver License or DMV-issued ID Card number, Social Security number (SSN), & date of birth
  6. You can register to vote, update your address, & change party affiliation
• Paper Registration: There are lots of opportunities to fill out a paper registration form!
  • Come to our offices in Belk 273 - We have paper forms and can help walk you through the process step by step. We can even mail your completed registration for you!

  • Register at a voter registration drive - each fall and spring the Student Democracy Coalition sponsors voter registration drives all across campus! Check back later for dates and locations.

  • Go to the DMV - The helpful employees at the DMV can fill out a Voter Registration card for you and print it in person. Find your local branch.
  • Go online - Download and print a paper registration. Bring it by the CCESL office if you need help filling it out!
    

    • Once you have completed, signed, and dated your paper voter registration application, you have a few options. You can mail the application into the county Board of Elections, you can take it to the Board of Elections in person, or you can come by the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning in Belk 273 and we will be happy to turn it in for you. 

876 Skyland Drive Suite 1
Sylva, NC 28779

Additional tips and resources:

• • • Living on campus & not sure what address to enter on your voter registration form? Check out this link to find the 911 (physical) address for your residence hall or apartment: 

      WCU 911 Addresses

    • If you have registered previously, but have since moved or changed dorms, it is important to update your address. If you have changed counties, you will need to re-register. If you have moved but still reside in the same county, you can either re-register to update your address, or you can call the local Board of Elections and they will be able to assist you.

    • If you live off campus: For your residential address you will put your current off-campus address. Your mailing address is wherever you receive your mail.

    • Please remember to select your political affiliation. If you leave it blank, you will be automatically registered as an unaffiliated voter. This means you can choose which party’s ballot you want during primary elections.
    • Voting can be confusing. We have put all of this information into a handy flowchart that may be easier to follow.
    • If you are NOT registered to vote and you live in Jackson County (including WCU's residence halls), during the early voting period you can register and vote at the same time-- this is called same day voter registration. Please note that you cannot same day register on Election Day, so be sure to vote early or register ahead of time!

The Civic Engagement Action Plan 2022, drafted in collaboration with the Student Democracy Coalition (SDC), the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL) at Western Carolina University (WCU), and the Advisory Committee for Student Civic Engagement on campus, is built on nearly a decade of high-level, sustained, student-led and institutionally-supported civic engagement efforts, and over 125 years of community engagement in and across the western region of North Carolina.

Read the Plan

The Student Democracy Coalition is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement on our campus. We are focused on voting rights and educating our student body on political topics and issues.

Learn more about the Student Democracy Coalition or call 828.227.7184 or email servicelearning@wcu.edu to learn how you can get involved!

 

Absentee Voting

• Anyone who is registered to vote in North Carolina may request and receive a mail-in absentee ballot for any election in which absentee voting is allowed.
• No special circumstance or reason is needed to receive and vote a mail-in absentee ballot.
• Most voters who want to vote by mail must request a ballot for each election.
• learn more and request your absentee ballot
• If you are not registered to vote in NC, you can either register in NC or see your state's voting website to request an absentee ballot. If you need help come see us in the CCESL in Belk 273!

One Stop Early Voting

An early voting location will be open in the UC Multipurpose Room between Thursday, October 20 and Saturday, November 5

• Monday-Friday, 8:00am-7:30pm
• Saturday, November 5, 8:00am-3:00pm
• No Sundays

If you are NOT registered to vote and you live in Jackson County (including WCU's residence halls), during the early voting period you can register and vote at the same time-- this is called same day voter registration. Please note that you cannot same day register on Election Day, so be sure to vote early or register ahead of time!

Election Day Polling Place for WCU:

Cullowhee Recreation Center
88 Cullowhee Mountain Rd
Cullowhee, NC 28723

While the ON-CAMPUS POLLING PLACE is open, the UC will be a NO CAMPAIGN ZONE.

As the University Center is home to an early voting site, it is important that all people who enter adhere to these rules and expectations:

• No campaigning within 50 ft. of the UC;
• No partisan literature in the UC;
• No partisan posters or events in the UC;
• No handing out partisan pamphlets;
• No partisan events/posters inside the UC;
• No going table-to-table encouraging people to vote for a particular candidate within the UC.

 

No matter the results, there are going to be fellow Catamounts whose candidates do not win their races. It is imperative, that we – as the Catamount Community – practice civility, live our institutional values, and remember our Catamount Community Creed through our words, actions, and responses. It is essential that we all model the way for our community and exemplify what it means to be an engaged citizen into and through our democracy’s elections. Please utilize this dialogue guide to assist in post-election conversation, or reach out to the CCESL staff.