Absentee voting numbers expected to be greater than in previous years
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Clay County Elections Board is in the midst of preparations for the November general election cycle which includes other voting methods such as one-stop and absentee. While the process will be traditional, polling locations will look different.
“You will see workers in masks and some behind Plexiglas shields. Extra workers will perform sanitation and line control. Six foot markers will be shown on the floors along with one-way arrows,” said Elections Board Director Rebecca Hall. “Although you will not be required to wear a mask, you may bring your own to wear if you’d like. We will have one if you need one. We will also have gloves, if wanted, and sanitizer if you would like. We will sanitize booths between each voter along with other high touch areas frequently.”
Voters don’t need to bring an ID with them to vote, but may need to bring their patience. Because of COVID-19 safety guidelines, voting will take a little longer at the polls.
“Please expect a longer wait to vote this time due to the extra precautions,” Hall said. “We are also required to limit the number of people in the polling location at one time. The busiest times are usually from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. so try to avoid those times. Please be patient with us as we try to keep everyone safe while assuring everyone can vote.”
Voters have until 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9 to register for the general election.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Hall is also anticipating a large number of absentee ballots. “We are already seeing an increase,” she said.
Voters can request absentee by mail ballots now through Tuesday, Oct. 27. The application has to be returned to the county Elections Board office by 5 p.m. Oct. 27. You do not have to provide a reason to vote absentee by mail as it is “no excuse voting,” in North Carolina. Call 389-6812 for details.
The process of voting absentee requires the voter fill out a state absentee request form. “We cannot take forms that are pre-filled with your information from other entities that you receive in the mail,” Hall said. “When we receive your request form, it will be processed and a ballot will be mailed to you when available in September. You will need a witness in the room with you while you are voting (completing the ballot) and to sign the envelope with you, pending any law changes.”
Another way to vote absentee in North Carolina is One Stop. Through this process individuals vote in person at Elections Board office in Hayesville where they will state their name and address. Hall said they will verify your information in their database, the voter will sign an authorization to vote form, proceed to the ballot station and receive a ballot. The ballot will be inserted into the DS200 machine and the voter will leave through the exit door.
While there was no pandemic, but a hotly contested presidential race in 2016, in Clay County there were 257 absentee ballots by mail and 3,597 voters using the One Stop method.
There appears to be some confusion about the difference between absentee and mail-in voting. Hall says it’s the same thing. “Mail in voting is absentee voting. Absentee and mail in are the same in North Carolina. The only difference is one is by mail and the other is at our One Stop location during early voting.”
Another issue the pandemic may have affected is lack of precinct workers on Election Day. Despite offering a solid day’s wage, there is a shortage at the county’s nine precincts for Nov. 3 election.
“We do not have enough workers for Election Day and we are still taking applications,” Hall said. “I will pass those names along to the party chairs. We are good on One Stop workers.”
Chief judges are paid $235, judges $175, assistants $165, emergency assistants $165, sanitizer $165, line control $165, and student election assistants is $165. There will also be hazard pay of $40 extra on top of those amounts for working this election only.
When asked what procedures are in place to assure we have fair elections, Hall responded, “We have checks and balances to ensure everything is fair. We double check results before posting and everything we do. We have more than one person verifying results so there can be no changes. It is our duty, responsibility and goal to have smooth elections.”
Does Hall see any reason why the election wouldn’t be as smooth as those in the past?
“No,” she answered. “However, you should expect it to take longer to vote and we ask for your patience as we continue the voting process in this crazy time.”