• WCPSS makes up 36% (75/208) of the county's polling sites

• Of the 208 polling sites in Wake County, 75 are WCPSS Schools (school polling location list)

  • • 56 elementary schools

    • 13 middle schools

    • 6 high schools

• These 75 WCPSS schools serve 34.2% of WCPSS students (54,301 out of 158,761 students).

• 39,494 voters entered schools on May 17, 2022, for the Primary Election

  • School was in session for Traditional & Year-Round calendars

• At some schools, voters are not separated from students

  • • Some schools use a shared entrance for students & voters

    • Some schools only have temporary physical barriers like cones, ropes, & hallway monitors

• To ensure the right to vote, voters do not need to show ID and are not background checked prior to entering school buildings

  • • Visitors and volunteers at WCPSS schools must provide both

• 76,760 voters entered WCPSS schools for the 2018 General Election

• More than 100,000 voters are projected to vote at WCPSS schools for the 2022 General Election

• Election boards can demand to use public school buildings for voting

  • • Schools and WCPSS cannot refuse.

    • Election Boards have cited problems securing suitable alternative locations.

    • State legislation allowing schools to opt out has not passed. (2019 N&O Article)

• In February 2022, the Wake County Board of Elections requested that WCPSS schedule a teacher workday for the next two general elections, including the 2022 Fall General Election

  • • The WCPSS 2022-23 calendars have not been changed.

• On June 7, 2022, concerned parents asked WCPSS to amend the school calendars to align teacher workdays with election days after the tragic events at Uvalde, TX. (6/9/22 News & Observer Article)

  • • This issue was not discussed by the board at their subsequent work session or board meeting on June 21, 2022.

• Durham, Orange, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Chatham, Lee, Harnett, and Johnston are NOT holding classes on November 8, 2022. Granville has scheduled a remote learning day.

(Photo Attribution: Creative Commons Vote Here - Election Polling Place by Tony Webster is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

July 26, 2022- Secondary Primary Election & Town of Cary Runoff Election

• Year-round calendar (tracks 1, 2, and 3) will be IN SESSION

• Modified calendar will be IN SESSION

November 8, 2022- General Election & City of Raleigh Municipal Election

• Traditional calendar will be IN SESSION

• Year-round calendar (tracks 1, 2, and 4) will be IN SESSION

• Year-round, single-track calendar will be IN SESSION

• Modified calendar will be IN SESSION

2023 Posted Election Dates

• Numerous WCPSS schools will be IN-SESSION

Note: Election Dates are scheduled through 2024 and can be viewed here.

The Concerns if School Remains in Session on Election Days:

• Election days give ill-intentioned people access to school buildings and students

• Cones, ropes, and hallway monitors are inadequate barriers for stopping an armed person

• School campus traffic and parking are negatively impacted (especially during carpool, arrival, and dismissal times) trying to accommodate voters

• Voters could potentially increase the spread of COVID since they are not a part of the students' COVID "school bubbles"

While every school and school administration does their absolute best to ensure student safety every single day, election days pose an incredibly large and unnecessary risk to student safety.

With your support and voice, we can work to change this by making all election days, teacher work days!

(Photo Attribution: Photo by Muhammad Daudy on Unsplash)