University of North Florida students are left without an on-campus early voting station for another major election season.

With Election Day on Nov. 3, some UNF students have advocated for the return of an on-campus polling location, highlighting accessibility issues and questioning why UNF no longer serves as an early voting hub.

UNF has lacked an on-campus early voting site since 2019, when the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office decided to discontinue using the university as a polling location for subsequent elections.

History of campus voting 

UNF originally became an early voting location ahead of the November 2018 general election following a federal judge’s ruling that declared Florida’s ban on college campus early voting unconstitutional.

The ruling enabled universities statewide to host polling sites, opening the door for UNF and other Florida institutions.

Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan approved both UNF and Edward Waters University (then Edward Waters College) as early voting locations, bringing the county’s total number of sites to 20, according to a previous Spinnaker report.

However, the university site was dropped ahead of the March 2019 local elections.

During the preceding period, only 448 people voted at UNF’s location—one of the lowest turnouts in Duval County, according to Spinnaker archives.

Hogan cited several factors behind closing the site, including the university’s $5,000 venue rental fee and the proximity of two existing off-campus early voting centers.

Despite the closure, students continued efforts to reinstate on-campus voting.

In November 2022, Spinnaker reported on a UNF Student Government survey of 415 students, in which two-thirds of respondents said an on-campus polling location would significantly increase their likelihood of voting.

Although Student Government worked with Hogan to re-establish the site, election officials maintained that neighboring polling locations were sufficient and prioritized expanding access in underserved areas.

With the 2026 midterms underway, voting accessibility remains a concern for the UNF community.

UNF College Democrats step in
Maxine Walters visiting UNF College Democrats as they promoted free rides to the polls. (Photo courtesy of UNF College Democrats)

To make voting more accessible, UNF College Democrats partnered with the Florida Democratic Party and Lyft to offer students free rides to early voting sites, said Moya Allen, president of UNF College Democrats. 

The organization hosted an outreach event outside the Social Sciences Building on Oct. 29, encouraging students to take advantage of the ride-share codes.

Allen said that the lack of an on-campus site disproportionately impacts young voters.

“Freshmen, most of them come fresh out of high school with no vehicles,” Allen said. “So it’s like making them travel to a foreign location, three, four, five miles off of campus and paying for an Uber.”

In addition to offering ride assistance, the group has utilized social media and campus outreach to educate students on mail-in ballots and voting procedures.

Allen said students have a significant influence on election outcomes. 

“I think young people, 18 to 25, just play a big role in the way that elections go. I think our voices hold a lot of power,” Allen said. 

Allen said students should advocate for the return of an on-campus early voting location through conversations with university leadership and election officials. 

Students advocate for access

Some UNF students said they would support restoring an early voting location on campus.

“I would be more likely to vote if it’s on campus since I don’t have to go anywhere,” one UNF student said, highlighting the convenience of walkable polling stations.

Another UNF student agreed: “Yeah, it would be nice. Gives people less of an excuse not to vote because it’s right on campus.”

For residential students lacking vehicles, off-campus travel remains a significant barrier that an on-campus site would eliminate.

However, an on-campus site comes with administrative and logistical factors, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Winter Slaughter.

Slaughter said that only students registered in Duval County can cast ballots at a local campus site, which may pose an issue for non-resident students.

“You can only vote on an on-campus site if you live in Duval County,” Slaughter said.

Slaughter said they would support bringing a polling location back to campus if the university considered student demographics and provided clear information about voting eligibility. 

“If the demographics of UNF’s student body population and the information surrounding it is approached well, I definitely agree we should have one,” Slaughter said.

 

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