Members of the Watauga County Democratic Party and Appalachian State College Democrats will hold a press conference Wednesday at 11 a.m. to kick off the “I Vote” campaign.

“Our press conference will bring together leaders from the county commission, town council, Watauga County Democratic Party and, most importantly, our Appalachian State University College Democrats to announce a large field effort to show our community that students are well-educated members of the community who should be able to exercise their right to vote in the school community they attend,” said Jesse Presnell, third vice chairman of the Watauga County Democratic party.

Presnell said the campaign will start later that day with the “Save the Student Vote” event, meant to raise awareness about Senate Bills 666 and 667 currently in the N.C. General Assembly.

“While folks like Dan Soucek and Jonathan Jordan are in Raleigh passing unconstitutional bills to take away those rights, we are kicking off this plan to bring folks together on issues that matter to everyone: jobs, education and voting access for everyone,” Presnell said.

SB 666 would disallow families to claim students as dependents if the student registers to vote anywhere except the address of the family claiming the deduction. The preclusion of these tax deductions could end up costing a family up to $2,500, according to the bill. SB 667 would also require voters to be registered to vote at the same address their vehicle is registered.

“We look forward to making our case to the Appalachian community and sending a message to our legislators that we intend to fight back,” Presnell said.

Appalachian State College Republicans Chairwoman Caroline Hartman said they will likely wait to release a statement after the press conference.

Story: JOSHUA FARMER, News Editor