ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — As the Nov. 5 general election looms, Buncombe County officials are making changes to some polling locations.
Despite the effects of Tropical Storm Helene, Buncombe County Election Services will maintain 80 Election Day polling locations, but changes have been made to 16 of those venues. The Board of Elections unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday, Oct. 16, revising Election Day polling locations. As part of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 as enacted by the General Assembly, Election Day polling places may be modified by bipartisan majority vote of the county board of elections.
Board of Elections Chair Jake Quinn said in a news release this has been a huge undertaking with 14 early voting sites and 80 election day sites. Staff were pulled from other departments to help the elections team evaluate locations.
Board members acknowledged it might be hard for some folks to get out of their communities because of the damage caused by Helene and consideration was made to limit a move out of a precinct if possible.
Of the 80 Election Day polling locations, 16 will be moved to new locations within their precinct or transferred to existing polling locations in a nearby precinct.
Voting Location Update Presentation
Reasons for the relocations range from flood damage, trees or power lines down, damage to roads or bridges and some sites serving as disaster relief hubs or fire departments with emergency operations taking place.
In the news release, Elections Director Corinne Duncan said, “At this time, we have 500 confirmed Election Day poll workers and staffing should not be an issue.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, the board passed a resolution designating the Buncombe County disaster shelter sites authorized to be visited by the Multipartisan Assistant Team (MAT) for assisting voters with absentee ballots.
Please see the attachments Resolution 2024-10 with Exhibit A, Resolution 2024-11 and Voting Location Update Presentation.
For more information about voting in Buncombe County, click here.