RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) - The College Democrats of North Carolina are fighting the removal of early voting sites on college campuses, claiming that the state's election board is violating the 26th Amendment by abridging their right to vote based on their age. 

The organization and a handful of students filed suit against the state's board along with two county election boards on Tuesday, claiming that the removal of early voting sites on three college campuses - including the country's largest public historically Black university, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University - trampled on their First and 14th Amendment rights. 

The state board's decision to remove the sites two weeks ago created needless barriers to young people voting, without furthering any state goals, the plaintiffs argued in their suit. They asked the court to step in to ensure sites are available on campuses for the start of early in-person voting on Feb. 12.  

The schools - Western Carolina University, University of North Carolina Greensboro and NC A&T - collectively serve over 40,000 students and the early voting sites have been present for multiple election cycles. The early voting sites are especially relevant, the plaintiffs say, because unlike at Election Day locations, early voting sites allow same-day voter registration and also facilitate changes to voter registration information. 

Officials told students attending the state board meeting over the proposed plan that, "You're not kindergarteners, you can find another place to vote," the plaintiffs claim, adding that Republican Chair Francis De Luca threatened to call the cops on them and taunted them by saying  "I want a site, I want a site." 

The Jackson County Board of Elections - which made the decision over Western Carolina University's site - and the Guilford County Board of Elections -  which elected to remove the early voting location for the other two colleges -  couldn't come to a unanimous agreement on the removal of the voting sites, resulting in the state board having the final vote on what plan the areas would adopt.  

Guilford County board members said that there was low turnout at the campus sites, and that resources would be better allocated elsewhere. The Jackson County board cited cost savings and logistical problems as the reason for the change. Neither board decided to replace the sites with locations elsewhere, the plaintiffs said, nor did they close other early voting sites. 

The students called the removals "a surgical restriction on young voters' access to early voting opportunities." They contend that the decisions to eliminate the voting sites are unlikely to significantly reduce cost or logistical burdens, and dispute that the sites were underutilized. 

"The real reason for the elimination of on-campus early voting at these universities appears to be a judgment that student voters - and disproportionately Black student voters - do not deserve the same level of accessibility as other voters in their counties," the students said in their complaint. "That judgment contradicts the Constitution and basic principles of equal treatment."

At a pivotal Jan. 13 meeting, the state board also rejected several local proposals that included early voting on Sundays, which Black churches commonly use for voter engagement drives. 

De Luca told local publication NC Newsline during a break in the meeting that he does not like voting sites on college campuses or support Sunday voting. The board has a 3-2 makeup, with Republicans holding the majority. 

The state's election board, which the governor had appointed members to for over a century, flipped from Democratic to Republican control last year after courts upheld a law granting a change in appointment ability to the Republican state auditor. Republicans had spent years prior attempting to secure the majority on the board through attempts to revoke the governor's appointment abilities and change the number of seats. 

Representatives for the Jackson County Board of Elections and Guilford County Board of Elections did not respond to a request for comment. The North Carolina Board of Election's director of external affairs, Jason Tyson, said it is state board policy not to comment on pending litigation.

Source: Courthouse News Service