GOP Elections Official Defies Party Pressure on Campus Voting Site
Jackson County GOP official Jay Pavey defied party threats to support campus voting site at Western Carolina University despite warnings he could be removed from the board.
CULLOWHEE, NORTH CAROLINA — A Republican member of the Jackson County Board of Elections said Tuesday he faced threats from his own party to remove him from the board if he voted to allow an early voting site at Western Carolina University this fall.
Jay Pavey voted in favor of a plan that included a WCU early voting polling place despite what he described as pressure from Republican Party officials. The site was approved despite opposition from the board chairman.
“I’ve been told that if I don’t vote a particular way, that they will, they will do wherever they have to do to remove me from the board,” Pavey said during Tuesday’s public meeting.
Chairman Also Cites Party Pressure
Jackson County Elections Board Chairman Bill Thompson, who cast the sole vote against placing a site on the university campus, also acknowledged receiving external pressure. Thompson said he was getting “pressure from above” to prevent the campus from hosting an early voting site.
“I’m probably the lone holdout, and it’s pressure from above,” Thompson said. He explained that the Republican Party opposes university sites due to neutrality concerns. “They want it to stay off campus,” Thompson said.
The public discussion at Tuesday’s meeting revealed the Republican Party’s active efforts to prevent WCU from hosting an early voting location for the upcoming fall election.
Board Member Stands Firm
Pavey defended his decision to support the campus location, stating it was the best available option. He acknowledged the potential consequences of defying his party’s wishes.
“I know that I’m bucking my party on this, and I may be a one-term member of the Board of Elections,” Pavey said. “If that’s it, that’s fine. I will stand on this hill and I will die on this hill.”
The Jackson County board is among several in North Carolina that have faced scrutiny over campus voting sites. Hannah Preston of Influence NC, a nonprofit encouraging political engagement, provided audio of the board’s meeting to NC Newsline.
Statewide Monitoring Efforts
Influence NC has been monitoring the Jackson and Guilford elections boards because both groups rejected plans that would have opened early voting sites on university campuses during the last primary election. Members and volunteers from the organization attend state and local board of elections meetings as part of their oversight efforts.
When local early voting plans do not receive unanimous approval at the county board level, the state Board of Elections reviews the proposals. The state board then either selects from competing plans or develops its own solution.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between political parties and election officials over voting access on college campuses, where student populations typically lean Democratic. The Jackson County case represents a rare instance of a Republican board member publicly breaking with party expectations on voting site placement.
