Murphy – Election Day may be Tuesday, but more than one-third of registered voters in Cherokee County have already made their decision.
“I’m not really surprised,” Director of Elections Leighsa Jones said, considering the “hype” in this year’s presidential election. “The precincts are going to be busy, too. I think overall it’s going to be a record.”
She said the highest turnout she’s seen since 1995 was 60-65 percent.
By the end of the day Saturday, 8,076 ballots were cast in Cherokee County – 1,737 absentee by mail, and 6,339 through one-stop early voting. That’s 35.73 percent of registered voters.
In the last presidential election, 618 people voted absentee by mail, while 7,136 voted through the one-stop early voting, for 32.5 percent. In total, 14,280 ballots were cast in that election for a turnout of 59.86 percent.
She said many of the early voters this year were regular early voters, but there were also a large number of people registering when they voted. In North Carolina, anyone who missed the regular registration deadline on Oct. 9 may register and vote in-person at an early voting site.
As of Oct. 24, there were 22,587 registered voters in the county, an increase of 169 voters since Oct. 9. Early voting continues through 3 p.m. Saturday. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by or hand-delivered to the Board of Elections office by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
There were court battles holding absentee ballots with deficiencies, like the absence of a witness signature or address. Minor issues, like the lack of an address, may be fixed by the voter signing an affidavit. However, those ballots missing a witness signature must be started over.
Jones said there were 35-40 ballots with deficiencies, and the elections office has already sent out the reissued ballots and letters, depending on the ballot issue. Anyone concerned about their ballot’s status may check BallotTrax at northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter or contact the elections office at 837-6670.
On Election Day, voters who have not voted must go to their precinct to cast a ballot. All 16 precincts in Cherokee County will be open on Election Day. In 2016, 6,526 voters waited to vote.
Jones said she and her staff are doing everything to ensure a fair and safe election process in the county.
“Be confident that we’re ensuring safety,” she said. “We want voters to be confident in the system and feel confident about the status of their vote.”
Besides the presidential race, voters are asked to decide who is the best candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, state representative, state senator, and other state and district offices. There’s also one contested county commissioner seat, one unopposed county commission seat and three unopposed school board seats on the ballot.
For details on the election or voting, contact the Board of Elections office at 837-6670 or visit www.cherokeecounty-nc.gov/274/Board-of-Elections.