Dear Editor, 

President Barack Obama, in his final State of the Union Address to the nation, called for policymakers to “make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now.”

Our state has historically been a leader in the South in electoral reforms that protect and encourage voting. However, in 2016 significant changes come into place that impact voting: a photo ID requirement — that does not include our student ID — and the end of same-day registration during the early voting period.

These changes serve to make voting more difficult, and with voter turnout already so low, we should be doing everything we can to make voting easier, not harder, just as Obama said. There’s a lot we can do to increase voter turnout, including supporting an early voting location back on NC State’s campus. Join us for a Teach-In about Student Voting Rights this week, Thursday at 7 p.m. in Withers 232A. Pizza and drinks will be included!

Sincerely,

Wil Mulligan, 

junior studying communication

NCPIRG advocate