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NC students organize against voter suppression
... Bryan Perlmutter, a recent graduate of N.C. State University in Raleigh, is leading a student-run initiative called the N.C. Vote Defenders that will train and organize North Carolina college students to protect voters -- especially college students and people of color -- from overzealous poll watchers. The effort comes in response to the state's controversial new Voter Information Verification Act, which contains provisions that expand the powers of amateur poll observers -- activities that have hazardous racial histories in North Carolina and beyond ...One of the legacies of the Moral Monday protests at the state legislature is that they have galvanized citizens from all walks of life, including many in higher learning, to stage sit-ins and pray-ins against unjust policies. Perlmutter is one of those inspired by the NAACP-led protests and was one of the first arrested when they kicked off in April. Before that, he organized N.C. State students around tuition hikes and school budget cuts. But it was the voting rights attacks this year that moved Perlmutter to pivot from the business administration degree he obtained in May to political organizing.
"Students who may not consider themselves organizers or activists find themselves now asking, 'Why are they doing this to us? Why do they they want to make it harder for us to vote?'" said Perlmutter. "So we want to be on the ground to give them outlets and make sure people going to the polls can vote -- and also educate ourselves on our surrounding communities in the process."
He's working with the Election Protection hotline group to help train the Vote Defenders, and he is also seeking help from civil rights groups. Right now, the strategy is to target five schools across the state -- N.C. State, ECSU, Appalachian State, Winston-Salem State, and UNC-Charlotte -- and deploy Defenders there to record and report any voter intimidation. He plans to work with HBCU and non-HBCU students alike and sees cause for a natural coalition between them ...
http://www.southernstudies.org/2013/09/nc-students-organize-against-voter-suppression.html
