Staff reports
Early, one-stop voting ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday ahead of Primary Election Day on Tuesday, March 3.
As of Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. there were 668 Swain County voters who had cast ballots during one-stop and 17 ballots submitted by mail to the Swain County Board of Elections Office.
“The turn out for one-stop has been low,” said Judy Allman, deputy director. The same holds true at the state level for the primary that is now earlier for North Carolina than in previous elections.
Early voting hours continue this week, from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday—the last day for early voting. There are two locations in the county for one-stop including the Board of Election Office, located at1422 Hwy 19 South, Bryson City and Birdtown located at 1212 Birdtown Road, Cherokee.
On Primary Day Tuesday, March 3, voters must go to their precinct to cast a ballot.
The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on the day of the election.
“They do not come to the Board of Elections Office on Election Day; they must go to their precinct,” stressed Allman, who said this is often a point of confusion for voters.
Allman also reminds voters that every registered voter in Swain County can vote during the primary election. In a partisan primary, voters who are affiliated with a party may cast a ballot in their party. In North Carolina, there are many unaffiliated registered voters. Unaffiliated voters may choose to participate in one of the following: Democratic, Libertarian or Republican primary. The Constitution party and Green party primaries are closed to unaffiliated voters.
“The biggest concern has been from unaffiliated voters. They don’t always understand that they can choose a ballot,” Allman said.
Among other concerns Swain Board of Elections Office has heard from voters is a general lack of information about the specific candidates running for office. Oftentimes, parties mail out voter guides but that hasn’t seemed to have happened this time, Allman said.
Some voters have stopped by the office and gotten a copy of the sample ballot for their party, researched the candidates and then returned to cast ballots after they have informed themselves, Allman said.
The other big message to voters for the primary election 2020 is that they do not have to show a photo ID to cast a ballot. In a Dec. 31 order, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. The injunction will remain in place until further order of the court.
Absentee ballots must be returned to the board of elections office or postmarked by 5 p.m. on Election Day.
For questions, contact the Swain County Board of Elections Office at 828-488-6177.
Polling sites:
Bryson City 1
Federal Building, 50 Main Street
Bryson City 2
Courthouse, 101 Mitchell Street
Alarka
Alarka Fire Department, 3601 Alarka Road
Almond
Southwestern Community College, 60 Almond School Road
Whittier/Cherokee
Birdtown Community Center, 1212 Birdtown Road
North Carolina voters can check their polling place online by visiting: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/PPLkup/