Election process takes shape
Aug. 29—The Haywood County Board of Elections is gearing up for fall when seats for everything from school board to Congress will be up for grabs.
Ballots were proofed and approved at last week's board meeting, and new board member Trudy Schmidt was sworn in. Schmidt replaces outgoing member Jean Messer-Evans.
The polling places will remain unchanged from the primary election, and early voting will begin on Oct. 20, with extended hours for voting (8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at sites in Waynesville, Clyde and Canton) on weekdays through the week before the Nov. 8 election.
Elections Director Robert Inman updated the board members on rules regarding observers, which has been an issue across the state. The state election board made a move to tighten up the existing rules, but a court determined there wasn't enough time before the November election to properly update and train the political parties on the proposed changes, Inman said.
As in the past, political parties may appoint poll observers who can be inside the voting enclosure to observe the election process. The rules stipulate that political parties must submit the names, days and times to be worked (in four-hour minimum increments) at each precinct five days prior to a person assuming the role, Inman said. Last-minute changes are not allowed under the current rules.
For the first time this spring, the Haywood County Republican Party had poll watchers at early voting sites and at polling sites on Election Day in far higher numbers than in the past.
Party Chairwoman Kay Miller said the party decided appointing poll observers was an allowable way to participate in the election process and was one that hadn't fully been taken advantage of locally in past years.
When asked whether the observers found anything that would raise concerns about elections in Haywood, Miller said there were only a few minor things that were corrected immediately when brought to the attention of poll workers.
For instance, when a voter approaches the poll worker to get a ballot, they are asked to state their name and address, she said, not have a poll worker ask if they still lived at a certain address after learning their name. This didn't happen often, she said.
Inman said some voters had expressed concern about seeing poll observers inside the voting enclosure, particularly the ones where space was limited.
"Everyone needs to understand the process that has to go on in there cannot be interfered with," Inman said about voting. "Observers can't talk, campaign or do anything in support of or opposition to a candidate."
In addition, observers can't record anything in the voting enclosure, may not watch a person vote and have to be seated far enough away from the check-in area to not overhear sensitive personal information, he added.
