Columbus County will continue to have five early polls but Sunday polls will not be open this year.
State law requires that all election rules for primaries and general elections be approved by unanimous vote. When there’s a split decision, the decision is handed to the state board.
Columbus County’s board divided along party lines earlier this year. Republicans wanted to close Fair Bluff, due to the Cherry Grove poll having the lowest turnout in the county’s five early polls. Fair Bluff and Ransom are also the only two polls that charge the county during early voting.
Democrats on the county board wanted to keep all five polls open. After multiple complaints about East End voters having less access if Ransom was closed, the Republican members of the board voted to keep Ransom, but close Fair Bluff-Cherry Grove.
The state Board of Elections on Thursday voted in favor of keeping all five polls open. In addition to early polls at Ransom Center and Fair Bluff Fire Department, voters may cast ballots at the Board of Elections, Tabor City Courthouse, and Chadbourn Municipal Annex.
The issue gained more headlines recently after text messages revealed that Dallas Woodhouse, the former chair of the state Republican party, apparently tried to influence local boards to further reduce early polls by contacting local board chairs. Woodhouse was doing so in his capacity as elections liaison for the State Auditor’s Office. He has since resigned from that role.
Woodhouse appeared to support reducing Columbus County to a single early voting poll, an idea that was briefly considered but quickly rejected by the county elections board. He later agreed that three would be sufficient for the county.
While the Democrat party saw a win in keeping five polls, Republicans had a victory in preventing Sunday polls.
Statewide, Democrats pushed for early voting on Sundays, a policy that has seen mixed results in previous elections. The Republican majority of the county board was against Sunday voting.
Early polls will instead be open Oct. 15-16 from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 19-23 from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; and Oct. 26-30 from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. The only day of weekend early voting will be Oct. 31, when polls will be open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Voters who do not opt for casting an early ballot must go to their home precincts on Election Day, Nov. 3 All polls will be open 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
