Voters in Columbus County have been hit with misinformation from not one but two groups in recent days.
The Board of Elections shared on social media that a letter received by some voters is causing concern and confusion.
Readytoregister.com sent official-looking letters to a number of Columbus County addresses in recent days warning that the voter might not be eligible to vote. Readytoregister.com is a for-profit elections services firm.
“Our records show you may not be registered to vote in North Carolina,” the letter begins. The letter then urges the recipient to use an enclosed registration form or scan a QR code to register online.
Voters are advised to throw the letter in the trash, according to elections officials.
“If you’ve voted before and haven’t moved or changed your information,” the BoE said, “you’re already registered. Before filling out forms or scanning QR codes from unsolicited mail, verify your voter registration through your county Board of Elections, which is your official election authority.”
Voters can check their registration by calling the Columbus County Board of Elections or going online at https://www.ncsbe.gov.
“If you need to register or update your voter registration,” the board said, “we strongly encourage you to do so directly through your county Board of Elections and not through third-party mailings. When in doubt, call your local Board of Elections. It’s always better to get your election information from the official source.”
A text message sent out en masse by the local branch of an activist group in recent days is pushing the rumor that Columbus County Board of Elections is cutting early voting sites back to a single poll frorn the November elections.
More than 100 people turned out at a recent Board of Elections meeting to decry a proposal to eliminate the Ransom and Fair Bluff polls during early voting. Those two polls charge the county $100 per day to lease the space, and Fair Bluff is consistently the lowest performing of all five county early polls. The board backed off of plans to close Ransom Center, and had a split vote on closing Fair Bluff.
Since the county board could not come to a unanimous decision, the state board will now determine whether or not to close the one poll and leave four others open during early voting in October. Election Day polls will not be affected, and all will be open as usual.
Board Chair Jillian McPherson-Edge said the board never seriously considered closing four out of five polls. The option was briefly mentioned in a discussion, she said, but has since been reported as fact by several organizations.
The Columbus County Deciders sent out a text July 2 that says ”We were reaching out to inform you about the Board of Elections potentially shutting down 4 out of 5 early voting sites across the county.” The text then gives the web address for the state board and says updates will be available there.
The Deciders is “a group trying to raise minimum wage and lower taxes on the middle class,” according to the text message. They are affiliated with the Patriotic Millionaires movement.
When asked why the group was spreading incorrect information, the sender asked “How is it misinformation just out of curiosity?” . The sender did not respond when asked to attribute the statement about four of five polls being closed.
The State Board of Elections is expected to make a decision about closing the Fair Bluff early poll later this month.
