Rep. Mark Pless (R-District 118) confirms to News 13 that after Henderson County’s Board of Elections refused to open additional polling sites beyond the one for early voting, legislators, including himself, voted to pass legislation Thursday that requires WNC counties to have polling sites for every 30,000 people.
The legislation has prompted Henderson County to open three additional sites, effective today.
Twelve other counties were also mentioned in the new law, and those were Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania and Watauga. While the new site requirements are in effect for all WNC counties, Pless said Henderson County, the second most populated county in the region, was the one lawmakers were most concerned about.
“The people weren’t being served in Henderson County,” said Pless. “And the Board of Elections wouldn’t do anything about it. We keep talking all the time about people accessing voting and being able to get to the polls and this was definitely hindering their ability.”
Pless said he and other legislators were hearing complaints.
“People couldn’t go on their lunch hour. They were counting on early voting.” Pless said.
State Representatives Jennifer Balcomb and Jake Johnson, who represent Henderson County, even spoke with Election board members.
“The Representatives for Henderson County had conversations and they refused to open any of the sites. They said they were going to stick with one and it was working perfectly. If they had done it all along to begin with that would fine. A few weeks ago, when we did the first (Helene) aid package, we gave them (Board of Elections offices) $5 million for just such an event, and they chose not to use it, dig their heels in.”
Pless said McDowell County was the second county lawmakers were concerned about, because it also only had one polling site. The legislation Pless said has forced McDowell County’s election board to add a second early voting site in Old Fort in addition to the current site in Marion.
Pless said McDowell County has a population of just over 31,000 and the second site was for distance reasons so voters can have an early polling site closer to their home or business in the rural county.
Henderson County has now opened four polling sites at Etowah Library, Henderson County’s Justice Academy, at Fletcher Town Hall and at the Board of Elections. Pless told News 13 he wasn’t clear on why Henderson County’s Elections Board refused to originally open multiple early voting sites. But the Director of Elections told News 13 by email the office was following the new law.
“We had an emergency board meeting on Friday, Oct. 25, because of this legislation,” said Heather Summerly, Henderson County’s elections director. “The Board voted to open up Etowah, but we were forced to do others, and since it was the law, we will follow it.”
News 13 was at the Henderson County Board of Elections office Friday, which at that time was the lone polling site. The place was extremely crowded. Site workers were using golf carts to shuttle voters to the site, and directing traffic in the parking lot where voters were parking and going to vote.
Deputies were also stationed with a marked car and barricades helping to merge traffic safely into the site’s parking lot.
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSLegislators pass new law, requiring Henderson and others to add more polling sites
