Jackson County Board of Elections. Photo by WCJ
Finally the Election Day is here! That doesn’t mean that we will know the results who won by the end of the night.
The Western Carolina Journalist election team will have updates during the election day so make sure to follow us on Twitter at @theWCJournalist and read our updates on the site.
North Carolina Board of Election expects to have processed 97% of the ballots on Nov. 3 and will have unofficial results the night of the election. The US Supreme Court upheld the upheld North Carolina’s policy accepting mailed-in ballots that arrive as late as Nov. 12, so long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
As we reported almost half of Jackson County voted during the early voting period. During the three weeks voting there were no reporting of long lines for people to cast their ballots, no cases of intimidations. During the early voting voters, could register and vote in the same day and many of the students voting at the University Center polling place used the opportunity.
If you voted by mail and have not returned your ballot, you may not return your ballot to a polling site on Election Day. You can mail your ballot back or return your ballot sealed inside the completed envelope to Jackson County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on Election Day.
North Carolina does not offer same-day registration on Election Day. If you are not registered to vote by Election Day, you will be unable to vote in the general election. For this election, you don’t need any photo ID to vote.
Jackson County has 13 precincts open on Election Day. You can visit the North Carolina Voter Lookup and put in your own information to see which precincts and jurisdictions you belong to.
Polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote. The busiest times tend to be early in the morning and just before the polls close. You can avoid longer lines by voting at off-peak times but as the director of Jackson County BOE, Lisa Lovedahl said, they will have enough staff and volunteers working on the election day to process people within 20 minutes. That was certainly the case during the early voting.
To protect voters and election workers, masks and hand sanitizer will be available to all voters. Social distancing will be enforced at voting sites. Read more at the Voting and Coronavirus page.
Voters who need assistance at the polls must request that assistance. Curbside voting is available for voters who are unable to enter the voting place without assistance due to age or disability. Once inside the polling place, voters who experience difficulties should request help from an election worker.
Voters may call Jackson County Board of Election on 828-586-7538, or 828-586-4055, ext. 6035 for information on: Registration deadlines; Absentee voting; Challenges and complaints; and Precinct polling locations. You can also visit them in person in the Skyland Center.
