Story by Dave Russell, The Sylva Herald
Story originally published on Jan. 22, 2020
The long road to the Nov. 3 general election started Jan. 13, with absentee by-mail ballots available for the March 3 primary.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m., Feb. 25, and for it to count, the ballot itself must be returned to the Board of Elections office by 5 p.m. on election day or postmarked no later than election day, March 3.
Absentee ballots can be requested online at the “voter forms” column, or picked up at the Board of Elections office at the Skyland Service Center. Any registered voter can vote absentee.
The absentee voting process has changed this time around. An absentee request form will only be accepted if returned to the county board by the voter, the voter’s near relative (spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent or stepchild) legal guardian or Multipartisan Assistance Team.
A MAT is a group appointed by local county boards of election to provide assistance with mail-in absentee voting to voters living at facilities such as nursing homes.
A voter needing help due to a disability, sight impairment or an inability to read or write, who is lacking a legal guardian or relative, can turn to someone else. That person must identify themselves on the form.
The completed request forms cannot be sent by fax or email as in previous years.
One-stop (early) voting begins Feb. 13 and runs through Feb. 29. One-stop sites are Cashiers Recreation Center, Cullowhee Recreation Center, the Jackson County Board of Elections Office, Western Carolina University and Wolfetown Community Gym.
The times are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29 is the only Saturday for voting, with sites open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. The times are the same for all locations.
Potential voters have until Feb. 7 to register, but they can also register and vote the same day at one-stop sites.
To register and vote the same day, a person must complete a voter-registration application and show an election official proof of their Jackson County residency by presenting any one of the following showing current name and current address:
- North Carolina driver license.
- Other photo identification issued by a government agency. Any government-issued photo ID is acceptable, so long as the card bears the voter’s current name and current address.
- A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the voter’s name and address.
- A current college/university photo identification card paired with proof of campus.
The newly registered voter can immediately vote on the same day they register to vote at one-stop sites. There is no same day registration and voting on election day. The Board of Elections will verify the voter’s registration before election day.
Voters who are not sure if they are registered to vote can use the N.C. Board of Elections Voter Lookup Tool to check.
Unaffiliated voters can choose to vote in the Republican, Democratic or Libertarian primaries. Constitution and Green party primaries are only open to voters affiliated with their party.
The Sylva Herald will print sample ballots ahead of the primary.
Though the election is a primary, two non-partisan Board of Education races will be decided on March 3. Incumbent Elizabeth Cooper and Shane Danner square off in District 1, and incumbent Wes Jamison is running unopposed in District 3.
For more information, call the Jackson County Board of Elections at 586-7538; visit jackson.boe@ncsbe.gov; or stop by the Jackson County Board of Elections office, located in the Skyland Services Center on Skyland Drive, during regular business hours.
