Despite fears that fewer Duke students were voting in this election than last, early voting data shows that they are in fact casting their ballots, although the numbers are down slightly.
According to the absentee voter file from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, approximately 3,000 people aged 18 to 22 years old who are residents of the three precincts that include Duke’s campus voted early. In 2012, this number was approximately 3,200.
The total number who used the early voting location at the Devil’s Den was 8,366.
“I think the turnout was pretty good,” said junior Matthew King, former YOUnite president and a columnist for The Chronicle. “I’m not unhappy with it at all.”
Junior Amy Wang, vice president of Duke Democrats, said that numbers for early voting were low at first. She noted that as of Thursday night, 600 fewer people had voted compared with the numbers at the same time in 2012.
However, she explained that numbers started to pick up Friday.
"For Duke students, voting is quite possibly the most important thing you'll do all semester,” she said.
The Devil's Den was one of 13 locations open in Durham County for early voting from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5. On election day, voters can only cast a ballot at their assigned precinct.
Students registered at their East Campus address will vote at George Watts Elementary School, and students registered at West and Central Campus addresses will have to vote at the Patterson Recreation Center.
In Durham County, more people voted early this year than in 2008 or 2012. In 2012, 9,174 used Duke’s site when it was located in West Union for 17 days. This year, Duke’s site was only open ten days.
Early voting got off to a strong start with 927 people casting their ballots on the first day of early voting at the Devil's Den. Site supervisor Judy Moore said that a mixture of both Duke students and Durham residents came out to vote.
Gunther Peck, associate professor of public policy and history, noted that in typical Duke student fashion, more students showed up to the polls at the end of the early voting period, narrowly making the deadline. He said that early voting on Friday afternoon was “hopping.”
Although some have criticized the Devil’s Den as an inconvenient location for voting, King said that he thought students did a good job of publicizing ways to get there—including a special shuttle schedule and discounts on Uber rides.
Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, previously noted that Devil’s Den was chosen for the voting site because it met the requirements of election officials. The Freeman Center sufficed for the primaries but was too small for the general election, he said.
Despite conceptions that students do not care about the election on Duke’s campus, Peck noted that they are in fact voting, but unlike past elections, they are voting out of fear instead of hope.
“It’s not so much apathy as disenchantment,” he said.
Both Wang and Peck emphasized the importance of Duke students voting in this election. Wang said that how North Carolina swings as a state is often an indicator of how other close states will go.
“Trump and Hillary are so undeniably close that thousands of people could determine the entire election,” she said. “It’s quite possible for Duke to make the difference in this election.”
North Carolina’s unique political environment consisting of more liberal urban centers and college campuses along with more conservative areas has resulted in such a close race in the state, King explained.
“It mimics the polarization we see across the country,” he said. “Whether 500 more college students vote could really matter in North Carolina.”
Peck also noted that with a close race, every vote could potentially flip the election.
He added that a key responsibly of Duke professors is to encourage students to vote.
“One of the challenges as educators is that we help each other see voting not as fulfillment on our end as political actors but as the beginning,” he said.
Editor's noted: This article was updated Sunday at 4:30 p.m. to include additional context and quotes from Matthew King.
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