“I Voted” sticker contest recognition

The winners of Jackson County’s 2026 “I Voted” sticker contest were recognized Tuesday, Sept. 1, during the Jackson County Board of Elections meeting. Naomi Pratt, 7, took first place with a design featuring an eagle and red, white and blue lettering that reads “I VOTED.”  “I chose the eagle because there is an eagle at East Laporte,” […]

WCU students march to cast their ballots

Cars speed down the busy four-lane highway, some drivers honking in support while others leaned out their windows to heckle as more than 50 WCU students marched along the shoulder toward the nearest early-voting site on Feb. 13. The march comes after the controversial decision by the Jackson County Board of Elections to eliminate the […]

Why Campus Voting Sites Matter: The Case of Western Carolina University

More than 76,000 votes have been cast at the Western Carolina University early voting site over nine elections. There is the possibility that it might be eliminated. Here’s why that matters.re-publishing from the Anatomy of a Purple State by Chris Cooper In Summer 2016, the Jackson County Board of Elections, under a Republican majority,1 approved a […]

NC Senate bill impacting local elections

As this municipality election season kicks off, a recent North Carolina Senate bill may impact some voters.  NC SB 382 covers a wide range of topics, from Hurricane Helene disaster relief to various law changes. Section 3A outlines several administrative changes to Board of Elections processes, including shortening the deadline to cure ballots. When a ballot […]

The unsung heros of election season

Jackson County Board of Elections this year had 115 election workers helping during the early voting and election day. These poll workers make the voting process easy and as stress free as possible. Often, they and the work they do can be overlooked. See the story bellow featuring two poll workers who worked at the […]

When can voters in Jackson County expect their absentee ballots to arrive?

As voters prepare to visit the polls, the Jackson County Board of Elections discussed big adjustments at their Sept. 10 meeting. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 9 for the removal of former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from all ballots in North Carolina. North Carolina is the first state in the […]