Early voting in Duke's West Campus during the 2012 election.
Early voting for the North Carolina primary begins Thursday and continues through March 12, and once again Duke will host an early voting site.
Primary election day is Tuesday, March 15.
With the continuing renovation of the West Union Building, which had served as the early voting site in the 2008 and 2012 elections, Duke and the state Board of Elections have moved the early voting polling site for the primary to the Freeman Center for Jewish Life, 1415 Faber St.
More than 9,000 people voted in both the 2008 and 2012 general elections at Duke.
“Voting is the foundation of civil society,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. “We have worked closely with students, faculty and the Board of Elections over the years to make the process as seamless as possible and hope that all members of the Duke community exercise this important obligation.”
Schoenfeld added, “We are grateful to the staff and students at the Freeman Center, who have helped make this possible, and look forward to returning the voting site to the center of campus once the renovations are completed this fall.”
The Duke early voting site is one of 11 in Durham County. The primary is scheduled for March 15. Early voting will run daily from Thursday, March 3, to Saturday, March 12. Hours will vary throughout the week and can be found on the elections board’s website.
US congressional elections will not appear as part of the ballot, unless federal courts overturn a lower court ruling rendering the districts unconstitutional. As it currently stands, a congressional primary will be held June 7, with early voting for that primary beginning May 26. However -- and this gets confusing -- competitive congressional races will be on the ballot, using the old districts, just in case the ruling gets overturned. If it doesn't, those votes won't count, candidates will have to refile for election in the new districts, and a new vote will take place in June.
The site will be open to Durham County residents only. Durham County residents and Duke students are eligible to vote at the site if they are a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of Durham County for 30 days by the date of the election. Voters must be at least 18 years old, although individuals who are 17 can register and vote if they will be 18 by the November general election.
In addition to increasing convenience of voting, the on-campus early voting site spurred political activity among students in both 2008 and 2012. In the last presidential election, both Duke Democrats and Republicans supported the early voting site on campus and organized activities around it.