ECU prepares for General Election this fall

East Carolina University’s Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement (CLCE) partnered with ECU Football to host a series of Civic Engagement Days to educate student athletes about the election process and their options for registration as a college student, and to assist most of the team with their registration to vote.

This new partnership with ECU Athletics launched in July with football and will continue into August and September with more virtual options for other student athletes to educate themselves about the democratic process and to register to vote.

“We are excited to work with student athletes and ECU athletics with the hope that other students on campus will be inspired by the civic engagement of our student athletes and will become engaged themselves,” said Alex Dennis, assistant director, ECU Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

As students return to campus, CLCE will be working throughout the fall to register as many Pirates as possible to vote in November’s General Election through a program called “Pirates Vote.”

Pirates Vote is a nonpartisan initiative within CLCE that works to remove barriers students may face when registering to vote and when voting. The Andrew Goodman Foundation has been a partner for the voter engagement work at ECU and has created a unique online portal for ECU students to check their registration, register, request an absentee ballot, and educate themselves about the candidates and the issues on the ballot.

CLCE has been awarded a $500 grant from the North Carolina Campus Compact to help offset some of the costs associated with digital engagement and voting efforts on campus. The Pirates Vote efforts include voter education and informational resources on campus platforms such as Pirate Port, the CLCE website, a new ECU Elections 2020 website, social media and campus emails.

The Main Campus Student Center has been designated as a One-Stop Early Voting site for Pitt County, making it convenient for students who are registered to use their campus or apartment address to vote.

“This is also a wonderful opportunity for our faculty, staff and students but also for community members to visit the ECU student center and vote,” said Dennis.

Free parking will be available for voters directly across the street from the student center, and ample signage will be provided directing voters to the polling site. Early voting begins on Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31.

For more information on the hours of operation, visit the Pitt County Board of Elections website.

For more information about the Pirates Vote initiative, contact Alex Dennis, Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement, at dennisa15@ecu.edu or 252-737-4988.

###

ECU News Services
Howard House, 1001 E. Fifth Street
Greenville, NC 27858
ecunews@ecu.edu
Phone: 252-328-6481
news.ecu.edu

Contact: Alex Dennis, assistant director, Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement, dennisa15@ecu.edu, 252-737-4988