One-stop and absentee voting are off to a slow start here

As of Monday afternoon, only one dozen local residents had taken advantage of one-stop early voting at the Alleghany Board of Elections office on East Whitehead Street (N.C. 18 South). The office, which is located about one block from Main Street, has been open for one-stop voting since last Thursday.

Interim Director of Elections Jenny Billings said she was surprised at the low turnout. “We really thought we were going to be busy, so we worked hard to get ready,” she said Monday. “This was somewhat of a letdown.”

However, voting appeared to pick up by Tuesday, when another 21 voters cast ballots, bringing the total up to 33 by about 4 p.m.

The one-stop voting period will end on April 29 at 1 p.m., she said. Only registered voters may participate in the election. The registration period for primary voters ended on April 7.

With numerous local candidates vying for sheriff, county commission and school board and contested local races on both ballots for the May 2 primary, Billings said she and others working to get the election ready had thought there would be a strong turnout.

“It’s still early in the process, so we’ll see what happens as the period goes on,” she said.

One stop voting is one of two no-excuse ways for voters to cast their ballots early, said Billings. In the past, only absentee paper ballot voting was available for those who wanted to vote prior to the election and voters needed a reason to receive a ballot. Under new rules, no reason to vote early is needed. The elections office is still mailing out ballots to those who are unable to cast their vote in person, whether it is due to physical limitations, military service or any other reason. “Anyone who wants to have a ballot sent to them may contact the office. We will then send them a request form or they can pick one up. When it is mailed back, we then mail out the absentee ballot,” she said. “They need to specify which ballot they wish to receive. Those who do not specify will receive only the non-partisan ballot.” That ballot only contains a few statewide judges races, she noted. “We are required by law to do it that way if there is no specific request,” she said.

So far, 11 voters have requested ballots by mail. The deadline for absentee voting by mail is April 25.

The new voting machines that the county purchased in January, which were mandated by changes to state and federal law, are now in place, said Billings. The county has a total of 28 machines.

Those who have voted one-stop have given good reviews to the machines. “Everyone seems to really like them,” she said. “We haven’t had any complaints.”

The new machines offer a variety of voting choices, including Braille and earphone options for disabled voters. The machines also keep an anonymous printed record of each voter’s ballot choices.

The Alleghany Board of Elections office may be reached by telephone at 372-4557, visited in person at 53 West Whitehead St. or written via U.S. mail at P.O. Box 65, Sparta, N.C. 28675.

Want to learn more?

The Alleghany News’ pre-election coverage will be printed in the next two editions of the newspaper. This week’s edition contains the views of all Republican primary candidates, while next week’s edition will feature Democrat primary candidates.
Republican candidates for Sheriff........................See Page 5A
Republican candidates for Commission...............See Page 7A

Candidate Forum Planned

The Alleghany Cyber Campus, located at Alleghany High School, will host a candidate forum tonight (April 20) beginning at 6 p.m. Candidates for sheriff, county commission and school board of all parties’ contested primary races will be featured. Admission to the event is $1 per person, which will help to pay for the event. Candidates for Alleghany County Commission are asked to show up at 5:30 p.m., with their forum beginning at 6 p.m. Candidates for the Alleghany Board of Education are asked to show up at 6:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. forum and candidates for Alleghany County Sheriff are asked to show up by 7:30 p.m. for an 8 p.m. forum. WCOK (1060AM) also will air the event before the election.

For more information, call Travis Sturgill at 372-7313.

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