Early voting for the 2026 midterm election primaries began Feb. 12, and Elon University is one of the many North Carolina colleges and universities not hosting an early voting site.
Elon University has hosted early voting at South Gym for recent presidential and midterm elections, though it has never hosted one for midterm primaries such as those coming up March 3, 2026.
On March 3, voters will select nominees for November’s U.S. Senate and House of Representatives elections, along with the North Carolina Court of Appeals and local races such as Alamance County Sheriff, Board of Commissioners and Clerk of Superior Court.
Assistant Dean of Campus Life and Director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life Bob Frigo declined an interview, but wrote in a statement to Elon News Network that the Alamance County Board of Elections reached out in the fall of 2025 asking if the university would host an additional early voting site to accommodate a high expected voter turnout. While the university was willing to serve as a polling place, the North Carolina State Board of Elections struck down the request.
“We are disappointed that Elon University was not selected as an early voting site for the midterm primary elections,” Frigo wrote.
Frigo wrote that with the limited number of early voting sites, most voters will have to travel to one of Alamance Kernodle Senior Center County’s three options: Kernodle Senior Center, Graham Recreation Center, or Mebane Arts and Community Center.
Early voting sites are the only locations that have “one-stop voting,” where citizens can register and vote all in one place.
Elon University is one addition to the list of North Carolina campuses not hosting early voting. The NCSBE also rejected early voting sites at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Western Carolina University; and North Carolina A&T University.
Students at these universities, along with the North Carolina College Democrats sued the NCSBE over this issue, claiming in the lawsuit that on-campus early voting sites are “critical for overcoming the barriers that student voters face.” These barriers include a lack of access to personal transportation, little time to travel to and from voting sites and a lack of familiarity with geography surrounding their schools.
To limit these barriers, Elon University will provide transportation from campus to an early voting location at the Kernodle Senior Center on Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to an email to students from Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley. On Election Day, transportation will be provided from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m