Jackson county is the only county in the coverage of the WCJ that uses voting machines during early voting and on Election Day. The county has a mobile ExpressVote unit to assist voters who want to do curbside voting.
The county Elections Director, Amanda Allen expects high turnout even with the impact from Helene on the county. None of the polling places were affected by the storm and Allen said Jackson County voting will be operating as normal. In the last general elections in 2020 over 73% of the almost 30,000 registered voters in Jackson County voted.
Check the sample ballot for Jackson County to do your research and plan to vote.
Jackson BOE is testing the equipment and getting ready to set up the polling sites for the early voting.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 11. Voters can check if they are registered and change their registration online or via mail. People who have not registered can do so during early voting and take advantage of same-day registration and voting at the polling place.
New Voter ID laws will be in place at the polls this year. As of the 2023 municipal elections all voters need to bring a valid photo ID. Registered voters can get a free voter ID from the Jackson County Board of Elections until Nov. 2. WCU student and employee cat cards and Southwestern Community College IDs are valid voter ID. There are additional options and processes if you are unable to present a photo ID when voting especially for victims of a natural disaster, which may affect many in our region.
People affected by Helene and need information and services available should visit NC Department of Public Safety resource page.
Early voting runs from Oct. 17 through Nov. 2. Jackson County has five sites open for early voting. During this period you can register if you have been living in the county for at least 30 days from Election day and you can vote in any of the five voting places regardless of your precinct.
Voters can cast their ballots at any of these locations:
| Polling Place | Location | Address |
| Cashiers | Cashiers Rec Center | 355 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers 28717 |
| Cullowhee | Cullowhee Rec Center | 88 Cullowhee Mountain Road, Cullowhee 28723 |
| Qualla | Qualla Community Building | 181 Shoal Creek Church Loop Road, Whittier 28789 |
| Sylva Dillsboro Combined | Board of Elections Office | 876 Skyland Drive – Suite 1, Sylva 28779 |
| Western Carolina University | A.K. Hinds Center | 245 Memorial Drive, Cullowhee 28723 |
Early voting will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17, 18, 21-25, 28-31 and Nov. 1. On weekends the polling places will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 26 and Nov. 2. Most of the county will have the same ballot except a small number of voters in Qualla near Whittier who will have an added vote for the Whittier Sanitary District board members.
Jackson County BOE had sent over 800 absentee ballots out and just approved 88 at the first Absentee Board meeting. As Allen explained in an email those meetings will continue through Election Day, followed by a meeting for provisional and supplemental absentees and Canvass.
“Absentee ballot envelopes are opened and tabulated or scanned by the Board. We aren’t counting, no results are seen until Election Day,” Allen clarified in an email.
She said that they have also heard from voters who received the ballots in mail during or after the storm who were damaged. Those envelopes need to be returned to the board and spoiled before they can send new.
If you want to vote on election day, Nov. 5 you will not have the flexibility from early voting. You will be required to vote at your assigned polling location. Voting begins at 6:30 a.m. and the cutoff is 7:30 p.m. Jackson County has 13 locations. Your assigned location will be determined by what address you are registered under. If you are not sure where you are registered you can check here.
Here is a full list of polling places in Jackson County:
| Polling place | Location | Address |
| Barkers Creek | Barkers Creek Community Center | 4065 W US Highway 74, Whittier 28789 |
| Canada | Canada Fire Station | 149 Charley’s Creek Road, Tuckasegee 28783 |
| Cashiers | Cashiers Rec Center | 355 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers 28717 |
| Caney Fork | Caney Fork Fire Station | 4201 Caney Fork Road, Cullowhee 28723 |
| Cullowhee | Cullowhee Rec Center | 88 Cullowhee Mountain Road, Cullowhee 28723 |
| Glenville | Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad | 79 N Norton Road, Cashiers 28717 |
| Green’s Creek | Savannah Community Building | 4752 US Highway 441, Sylva 28779 |
| Qualla | Qualla Community Building | 181 Shoal Creek Church Loop Road, Whittier 28789 |
| River | VFW Post 9493 | 10629 S US Highway107, Tuckasegee 28783 |
| Savannah | Savannah Fire Station | 18 Ralph Tatham Road, Sylva 28779 |
| Scotts Creek Combined | Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Fire Station | 36 Mount Pleasant Church Road, Sylva 28779 |
| Sylva Dillsboro Combined | Board of Elections Office | 876 Skyland Drive – Suite 1, Sylva 28779 |
| Webster | Family Resource Center | 1528 Webster Road, Webster 28788 |
If you are voting absentee, you can request the ballot by Oct. 29. If you want the vote to count it needs to arrive in Jackson County Board of Election by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.
For more information on registering and voting or about the voting process, procedures and results or any challenges contact the board at 828-586-7531.
If you are student check out the story on how and where to vote at WCU
