Board of Elections awaits guidelines
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 2, 2016 1:46 PM
The Wayne County Board of Elections is awaiting further guidelines from the state before revising plans for the Nov. 8 general election.
That includes the one-stop early voting schedule that is expected to be revamped to reflect the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the state's 2013 voter ID is unconstitutional.
Under the county's one-stop plan, submitted last month for approval by the state Board of Elections, voting would have been held from Oct. 25 through Nov. 5.
However, the court ruling reverts to the previous state voting law that allows for 17 days of one-stop early voting.
Wayne County Election Director Dane Beavers said that he expects the local elections board will have to meet to reexamine the schedule based on the court ruling.
Beavers said that Wayne County, like most counties in the state, had submitted a one-stop voting schedule, and was awaiting state approval.
"Now we will have to go back and start over," he said.
Beavers said he did not know when that would happen since the county is waiting for further guidance from the state Board of Elections.
State Board of Elections Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach issued a statement regarding the court ruling in which he encourages all voters to stay informed of developments over the coming weeks.
The agency is "carefully reviewing" Friday's decision from the Fourth Circuit, Strach wrote in the letter.
"Absent alternative guidance from the courts, voters will not be asked to show photo identification this election," he said. "Early voting will run Oct. 20 through Nov. 5, and same-day registration will be available at early voting sites.
"If voters do not appear at their assigned precinct within their county, their vote will still count for all eligible contests. However, to avoid voting a provisional ballot, we encourage voters to appear at their properly assigned precinct on election day."
Strach said in the letter that legal counsel for the state are reviewing options on appeal.
Regardless of the outcome, the state Board of Elections will continue to "educate" voters and prepare elections officials ahead of November, he said in the letter.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections is the state agency charged with overall responsibility for administration of the elections process and campaign finance is closure in North Carolina. The office of the State Board of Elections works in conjunction with County Board of Elections offices to ensure that elections are conducted lawfully and fairly.
For additional information visit the Wayne County Board of Elections website, www.waynevotes.com, or the state site, www.ncsbe.gov.