By Maleah Funderburk
Wingate Triangle Editor
California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and student representatives from various small colleges in the area, including Wingate, on Oct. 17 to kick off the first day of early voting in North Carolina. The press conference was held at Johnson C. Smith University Art Center in Uptown Charlotte.
“The election started today, it ends Nov. 5,” Newsom said, reflecting on his visit to Ethel Kennedy’s memorial in Washington, D.C. Just a day earlier, he sat near former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as current President Joe Biden, and noted that “the spirit of Kennedy was alive.” They discussed the importance of voting, especially in a swing state such as North Carolina.
Newsom highlighted Kennedy’s influence on fostering a sense of proud citizenship among voters. “Talking about this notion [that] we’re all bound together by this web of mutuality,” he said. “Citizenship that is not just defined near elections or after elections but in between elections.”
Livingstone College Student Government Association President Ne’Khia Ray opened the event by encouraging her peers to vote. “You can use your Student ID to vote,” she said. “I urge you to bring a friend who hasn’t registered yet, knock on your neighbors’ doors or volunteer at your local phone-banking site.”
Ray emphasized the importance of education in motivating college students to vote. “What I believe is going to get college students out of their dorms to vote is educating them on why voting matters,” Ray said. “Another thing [is] providing resources. [Livingstone] is providing transportation to the polls…and educating our students on the politicians and what they stand for.”
Livingstone has implemented a voter registration process as part of the move-in experience for students. According to Ray, the majority of students at the Salisbury, N.C., school are already registered to vote. During early voting, the focus shifts from registration to education about the candidates.
“What’s that spirit of America?” Newsom asked. “Caring about one another. Standing taller than anyone else because you bend down on one knee to lift someone else up. That’s the spirit of America.”
Your vote matters! Visit NCSBE.gov to check your registration. You can vote now through Nov. 5.
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