Murphy – More than 1,000 people have already voted in Cherokee County, with many more expected to start voting Thursday, when early voting begins.
In 2016, 618 people voted absentee in Cherokee County. As of the board of elections meeting Oct. 6, 1,049 returned absentee ballots had been approved, the highest ever, according to Director of Elections Leighsa Jones.
“I’ve never seen absentee voting so high,” Jones said.
Only 18 absentee ballots were on hold for incomplete information – or deficiencies – on the envelope. The county elections office will do what it can within the law to remedy those situations with the voter.
Absentee voters are required to sign the envelope, plus have a witness sign and provide their printed name and address. Jones said last week’s board of elections absentee meeting took 2 hours and 30 minutes to approve ballots. The elections board is meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesdays as well as the Monday before Election Day to approve absentee ballots.
At least 2,229 absentee ballots have been requested in Cherokee County so far. Voters have until Tuesday, Oct. 27, to request an absentee ballot.
In North Carolina, absentee ballots may be returned by mail, by commercial delivery service, in person at the county elections office or in person at an open early voting site. Absentee ballots must be returned to the county elections office by 5 p.m. Election Day or postmarked on or before Tuesday, Nov. 3. Absentee ballots cannot be returned to voting precincts on Election Day.
In-person early voting is set for Oct. 15-31 and takes place at the elections office, 40 Peachtree St. In 2016, 7,136 people voted early in Cherokee County.
The county board of elections has worked with the state director of elections to provide safe voting conditions.
“It will be a bit different,” Jones said.
Earlier this week, staff worked on moving furniture in the conference room to allow for social distancing during early voting, she said.
At both the elections office and voting precincts, markings will be on the floor to aid in social distancing. A greeter, who will be wearing a mask and gloves, will offer masks and hand sanitizer to voters. Each voter will also be given a pen to keep for signing the Authorization to Vote form and cotton swab for selecting choices on the voting machine. Machines will be sanitized between voters.
As of Friday’s deadline, there were 22,418 registered voters in Cherokee County. In 2016, 14,280 of the 23,856 people registered voted in the election.
The county board of elections added that all 16 precincts in Cherokee County will be open on Election Day. The state Board of Elections is suggesting those who request an absentee ballot but decide to vote in person to shred and discard their absentee ballot.
Absentee ballots can be tracked through the state’s BallotTax system at northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter. For details on voting options, visit cherokeecounty-nc.gov/274/Board-of-Elections or call 837-6670.