DOBSON — Two of the four early voting sites open in Surry County during recent election cycles face elimination along with certain Saturdays that service typically is available, but the final decision on locations will come from the state.
That is required due to the Surry Board of Elections failing to achieve unanimous votes on proposals for closures during a meeting Wednesday afternoon in Dobson.
There is general support among the five-member board for not operating one-stop absentee, no-excuse early voting locations in Pilot Mountain or Elkin ahead of the general election on Nov. 8. That sentiment is based on the relatively low turnout at those sites for a May 17 primary and the expectation that again will be the case this fall.
The other two sites are in Mount Airy and Dobson.
“I would like to have the one-stop open at all four locations” under ideal conditions, Board of Elections Chairman Dwayne Carter said, which have not been manifested given the voter participation rates in Pilot Mountain and Elkin.
“Dobson has to be open by statute,” Carter added regarding the home base of the Surry Board of Elections.
And the popular Mount Airy early voting station in a county facility behind Arby’s is thought to be sustaining itself when weighing the turnout against the costs of the early voting service. It allows citizens to both register and cast ballots ahead of a regular election day for whatever the reason.
“We really need to have Mount Airy open,” Carter believes.
“And, of course, you have to have the same people, the same equipment and the same supplies there,” he said of the Pilot Mountain and Elkin sites where turnout is low. Spreadsheets were prepared on attendance and expenses to achieve breakdowns on the cost per vote cast, which showed that operating those locations isn’t justifiable.
“So we did attempt to pare down,” Carter said.
However, a vote to not operate the Pilot Mountain and Elkin stations this fall didn’t produce that desired result due to parliamentary rules governing the local board.
“We did not come to a unanimous vote,” Carter said of Wednesday’s action — which means the outcome must be decided by the State Board of Elections in Raleigh.
That was the case earlier this year when Surry board members registered a split vote on the number of early voting sites for the primary. That led to a decision by the state board in March to maintain all four locations.
Although the Surry Board of Elections is a five-member body made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, Wednesday’s vote was bipartisan in nature. One GOP member made a motion to operate only the Mount Airy and Dobson locations, which also was backed by all three Democrats.
However, the remaining Republican voted against that plan — thus triggering the required intervention by the State Board of Elections at an upcoming session.
“I’m thinking it will be in August,” Carter said.
“We tried to come to a better compromise for everything and that didn’t quite work,” he mused.
The failed unanimous decision on eliminating the Pilot Mountain and Elkin locations led to another motion being introduced by a Republican member to have only the Dobson early voting site. It failed along party lines 3-2, again necessitating state involvement.
“Just like before the spring primary, it will have to go to the State Board of Elections,” Carter said.
When it takes up the matter, the options will include maintaining Mount Airy and Dobson, Dobson only or all four sites, but Carter doesn’t expect the latter to occur.
One local board member on each side of the issue will argue his case before the state board.
Saturdays cut
The Surry County Board of Elections did achieve a definitive result this week when it came to cutting the number of Saturdays when early voting stations will be open before the November election.
Three Saturdays normally would be included, with the one right before Election Day mandated to be on the schedule.
“We were unanimous in the decision to close the two Saturdays that we had the power to say ‘open’ or ‘close,’” the local chairman disclosed.
Low turnout for comparable Saturdays during the primary was again the motivation.
Carter explained that the overall downscaling sought by the Surry board is a recognition of the lack of voter interest demonstrated for off-year elections such as in 2022 when no presidential race is on the ballot.
Many local candidates will be listed who have no opposition by virtue of winning party primaries in May, making them automatic victors in November.
“We don’t predict there will be a large abundance of voters,” Carter said of the impact from such factors.
He suggested that the only hot race facing local citizens looks to be a statewide U.S. Senate contest pitting Republican Ted Budd against Democrat Cheri Beasley.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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