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#TalkRadio – January 20: HBCU Battle for Early Voting Site: Manipulative Barriers to Student Voting in 2026
January 20: HBCU Battle for Early Voting Site: Manipulative Barriers to Student Voting in 2026
The nonpartisan “Igniting Change Radio Show with Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq.” program will be aired from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Radio One’s WOL 1450 AM in the Washington, DC metropolitan area as well as nationwide on WOLDCNEWS.COM and Barbaraarnwine.com.
Please note, during the show there are 3 hard stop commercial breaks at 12:13 PM Eastern Time, 12:28 PM ET and 12:43 PM ET.
SPEAKERS:
Zayveon Davis,
Honors College of Business and Economics (COBE) Scholar
Business Management Student
NC A&T Society of Human Resource Management President
Public Policy Advocacy
Voter Advocacy
GOTV/Voter Excitement Workgroup Co-Lead
Aniya Marshall
Sophomore Student
Honors Political Science Major
Business Finance Minor
Elevate Her, Social Action Chair
3.75 GPA (Chancellor’s List for 3 consecutive years)
Supported Campus Initiatives to increase student engagement in local elections
Kayla Jackson
Graduate of the STEM Early College at N.C. A&T State University
Major, Architectural Engineering
Minor, Construction Management
Future Goal to obtain a Master’s Degree and become a licensed Architect
Andres Cubillos 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Deputy Organizing Director at People Power for Florida
Board of Directors, Youth Action Fund
Former Florida Democratic Party Campaign Committee Chair
TJC Alumni
B.S. Political Science, Florida State University
Hispanic Scholarship Foundation Scholar
Former President/Founder, Florida PIRG Student at FSU
INTRODUCTION:
Hi Igniters For Change! This Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, is entitled “NC A&T Protest for Early Voting Site: Fighting Barriers to Suppress Student Voting in 2026.”
Radio Show Co-Hosts, and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders, Attorney Barbara Arnwine and Attorney Daryl Jones will feature N.C. A&T students, Aniya Marshall, Kayla Jackson and Zayveon Davis, who held a protest at the North Carolina Board of Elections as they sought to have an Early Voting Site on their college campus.
It has been a quest of the Transformative Justice Coalition to encourage HBCUs, and all colleges and universities to have election polling sites located on college campuses. Polling places on college campuses increases the participation of younger voters in the democracy process.
There exists, however, anti-young voter forces seeking to silence, confuse, frustrate and deter young voter participation. In fact, one leader of the anti-youth vote movement is Attorney Cleta Mitchell, who was noted for stating that voting was too easy for college students! “They basically put the polling place next to the student dorm so they just have to roll out of bed, vote, and go back to bed.”
Indeed, there are a multitude of barriers college students face in trying to vote. College students face voter suppression from tactics designed to stifle their vote, from the types of voter identification acceptable for voting to restrictive laws governing the casting of absentee ballots.
Today’s student guest at NC A&T, America’s largest HBCU by population, sought to knock down the voting barrier of poll accessibility on their campus. They wrote a Petition requesting that their college campus be included as an Early Voting Site. The NC Board of Elections denied their request. Undeterred, the “Aggies” organized and traveled unannounced to a Board of Elections Meeting to voice their dissent of being denied the Early Voting Site. The students were denied the opportunity to voice their concerns or plead their cause to the Board. The Board of Elections called the police of the students, who ultimately left the meeting.
This show will discuss various barriers that young and college voters will face in the 2026 midterm election. The show will talk about the hurdles implemented to make voting more difficult in 2026 and will conclude with a discussion on strategies to overcome these challenges.
The questions included below are designed to provide a guide but are not the only possible questions, nor may they be asked in the exact same order.
Related Articles
- https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/nc-elections-cut-sunday-voting-campus-polling-2026-march-primaries/
- N.C. Elections Board Rejects Campus Polling Centers
- https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/nc-elections-cut-sunday-voting-campus-polling-2026-march-primaries/
- North Carolina Board of Elections eliminate some college campus early voting sites, Sunday voting | News | ninertimes.com
- GOP lawyer Cleta Mitchell suggested it’s too easy for students to vote, but many lack ID. – Votebeat
Proposed Questions
Student Activists at N.C. A&T State University : 12:00 PM – 12:58 PM ET
The questions included below are designed to provide a guide but are not the only possible questions, nor may they be asked in the exact same order.
QUESTIONS (nonpartisan)
- Zayveon, what does “voting access” mean to you as a college student?
- When did you first learn how to register to vote?
- Aniya, could you please share with our audience what happened when you all sought to have an early voting site placed on your campus?
- How was the decision made to go to a board meeting?
- What did you seek in going to the Board meeting?
- Was the university supportive of your actions?
- Have you ever been confused by residency rules for students (home vs. campus address)?
Barriers & Challenges
- Andres, You have been successful in petitioning to have an on-campus polling site placed on Florida State University’s campus. What are your thoughts on what happened to A&T?
- Andres, what obstacles, if any, have you encountered when trying to vote while in college?
- Kayla, does transportation or scheduling issues make voting harder for students living on campus?
Open non-directed Questions
- Do you feel that identification requirements create challenges for students?
Campus & Institutional Support
- What role do you think your college should play in helping students vote?
- Do you believe that young voters and college students are motivated to vote?
- What would make students more likely to participate in every election?
Closing
- 15. How do people contact you and what is your quick closing remark?
- Thank you for joining our show.