Early voting period opens this week

There are tweaks to locations for Randolph County early voters

ASHEBORO – Early voting begins this week for the Nov. 5 general election.

The early voting window runs from Oct. 17-Nov. 2, with the exception of Oct. 20. Voting times are 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays; and 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27.

There are five sites in Randolph County for early voting – Randolph County Board of Elections on North Fayetteville Street, Asheboro; Community Services Building, Archdale; Randleman Civic Center, Randleman; Franklinville United Methodist Church, Franklinville; and Randolph Community College’s Corner Foundation Center, Asheboro.

Early voting allows eligible residents to register and vote during the same visit. For all voting in North Carolina, photo identification is required.

Residents of the county can vote at any of the early voting locations. On Election Day, voters must cast ballots at their assigned precinct, and they must already be a registered voter.

“People are really interested in this election,” said Melissa Kirstner, who’s elections director for Randolph County.

The community college site for early voting is an additional venue since the last general election. The Community Services Building in Archdale remains an Election Day precinct and now replaces Braxton Craven School in Trinity on the list of early voting locations.

Kirstner said the Archdale location had at one time been an early voting location. Because of some adjustments at the building, there’s now more space for voters visiting.

“It should work well,” Kirstner said. “There’s room inside for people to wait and they shouldn’t have to stand outside.”

The Randolph County Board of Elections received an encouraging response in recruiting election workers this year in anticipation of large turnouts. Kirstner said extra workers have been trained.

“We have quite a few new people to work Election Day,” she said.

County-wide races include competitions for Randolph County Board of Commissioners, Randolph County Schools’ Board of Education, district attorney, and soil and water conservation district supervisor.

There are 34 different ballots that will be used in Randolph County depending on the address of the voter and various combinations of races for voters in particular precincts, Kirstner said.

For instance, Archdale has municipal positions (mayor, city council) on the ballot. In Trinity, there are city council seats on the ballot.

Archdale and Trinity will have N.C. House of Representatives District 70 on the ballot.

Liberty voters will have N.C. Senate District 25 and N.C. House of Representatives District 54 on the ballot. Archdale will vote on N.C. Senate District 25, while Trinity has N.C. Senate District 29.

That ballot for the southwest part of the county includes N.C. Senate District 29 and N.C. House of Representatives District 78.

In early September, about two dozen people attended an NC Trusted Elections Tour stop in Asheboro, Kirstner said. It was a nonpartisan forum with several election experts making presentations.