On Wednesday, April 27, WCU will have a few new faces and plenty of new posters on campus. Students will have a chance to meet with many aspiring and seasoned political leaders that will be running for office during the elections this season.
This is part of the biannual Democracy Day at the UC fountain on Thursday, April 27 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Democracy Day is a day when the school brings in the candidates for the upcoming elections to meet with the students and encourage voting in the upcoming election. It is organized by the Student Democracy Coalition.
This year there will be around 20 candidates from the local ballots. See the full list at the bottom of the article.
Lane Perry, the Executive Director of Community Engagement and Service Learning, described it as a “day to celebrate our democracy, meet and greet candidates, and learn about how, where, and when to vote.”
“We like to say it is where the local ballot comes to life,” said Perry.
WCU will be hosting a debate for the republican candidates of U.S. House NC district 11. The debate will be in the UC Theater on Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. The incumbent Madison Cawthorn will not be at the debate, but other GOP candidates will be there. That includes former three-time NC senator, Chuck Edward, as well as Rod Honeycutt, Wendy Nevarez, Bruce O’Connell, Kristie Sluder, Michele V. Woodhouse, and Matthew Burril. Some candidates will be doing a meet and greet after the debate.
For an excellent analysis on congressmen Cawthorn and his chances to keep his seat see Who can beat Madison Cawthorn?
Democracy Day is part of the All-In Democracy Challenge that the school has been participating in since 2016.
The All-In Democracy Challenge promotes student participation in elections through campuses. Much of the school voting participation is accomplished through the Student Democracy Coalition group on campus. The SDC sets up voter registration and one stop voting in the fall during elections. If you are a Jackson County resident, you can register and vote on the same day. If you are registered to a different county you can request an absentee ballot.
Each college campus is challenged to increase election participation and are awarded by All-In for how much participation they have.
WCU has won two awards since joining. In the 2018 midterm, they won a silver award for 30% -39% participation and a gold award in 2020 for 70% – 79% participation during a presidential election. We are also a part of the Presidential Commitment as part of the All-In Challenge, which is given when the college president commits to strive for 100% student participation.
WCU has increased student participation in presidential elections from 51% in 2012 to 72% in 2020. The goal is to reach 75% participation in the 2024 election said Perry.
The following are the candidates who will be at WCU on Democracy Day.
United States Senate:
- James L. Carr Jr. (Democrat)
- Kenneth Harper, Jr. (Republican)
United States House of Representatives, North Carolina 11th District:
- Bruce O’Connell (Republican)
- Wendy Marie-Limbaugh Nevarez (Republican)
- Jay Carey (Democrat)
North Carolina Court of Appeals:
- Carolyn Jennings Thompson (Democrat)
North Carolina State Senate, District 50:
- Karen Burnette McCracken (Democrat)
Jackson County Commissioner:
- Mark Letson
- Gayle Woody
Jackson County Clerk of Court:
- Kim Coggins Poteet (Democrat)
- Albert Reagan (Democrat)
Sheriff:
- Jimmy Ashe (Democrat)
- Rick Buchanan (Democrat)
- Robin Gunnels (Democrat)
- Doug Farmer (Republican)
Board of Education, District 2:
- Abigail Blakely Clayton
- Lia R. Buchanan
- Courtney Umplett
Board of Education, District 4:
- Wesley (Mac) McKnight
- Frederick Buskey
This is not the entire ballot for the May 17 primary election. To search for the sample ballot in your NC county click here. To find your ballot in a different state, Ballotpedia is able to search nationwide. Ballotpedia can also give you further information about the candidates.
