NCCU voter profile

Part two of Battle for America is available here: Voters wanted: Apply here

In the wake of several attempts across the United States to discourage voting by African Americans and students, a survey found students at N.C. Central University are more politically active than the national average for 18-29 year olds.

In the May 2012 campus survey of 100 students, 93 students said they planned on voting in the 2012 presidential election, but only 83 of these were registered to vote.

The survey also found that  in the 2008 presidential election, 51 of these 100 respondents reported that they were eligible to vote. Of these, 43 actually voted. This means that 84 percent of NCCU students voted, as compared to the national average of 50 percent for the 2008 youth vote.  

But will they vote this year?

The results of the survey suggests that having a politically active family might be important — of those 43 voters, 60 percent said they discussed politics at home.

“My mom doesn’t play,” said mass communication senior Marliss Platt. Platt said when it’s time for early voting, her mother calls her to make sure she sends in her ballot.

But voters this year are facing more than just phone calls from Mom.

Civil rights groups have expressed concerns over a number of attempts in different states to enact voting policies that would disproportionately hurt minorities, young people and the working class, in what they see as an effort to decrease likely Democratic votes.

North Carolina state legislatures passed a strict Voter ID law last year, but the legislation was vetoed twice by Gov. Beverly Perdue. North Carolina law does not currently require a voter identification to vote.

And NCCU’s student body is overwhelmingly democrat. The survey contained 82 Democrats, three Republicans, nine Independents and six who identified as “other.” 

Regardless of political affiliation; however, the recent attempts to pass voter identification laws and reduce early voting tend to disproportionately affect minorities, young people and members of the working class. 

When it comes to voting, not everyone sees the need for an even playing field. 

Tea Party founder Judson Phillips stated on air in December 2010 that voting rights should be restricted to property owners, because they “have a little bit more of a vested stake in the community.” 

Similarly, Fox Business anchor John Stossel drew heat this year when he stated on air that “dumb people” and college students — what he termed as “the kids” — shouldn’t vote.

The chart below show the percentage of students at NCCU affiliated with specific political parties as recorded in the survey described above. The category "Other" is not displayed, though six NCCU students identified as such.