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The
Watauga County Board of Elections turned down a request to move the
Boone 3 Precinct polling location from the Agricultural Conference
Center on Poplar Grove Road to Appalachian State University’s
Farthing Auditorium Friday.
The
proposal was requested by the Watauga County Democratic Party.
"To
me, that says 'We're not interested in making voting convenient.
All [the Board of Elections]' actions indicate they way to make
it inconvenient to vote in Boone 3."
-Pam P. Williamson
“[The
Board of Elections has] repeatedly turned down any place over [on
campus] … [and] I’m not happy about it,” Pam P. Williamson
said. Williamson is the chairperson of registration efforts for
the county Democratic Party.
The
Board of Elections’ decision is the second refusal in two years.
A similar request by Appalachian’s College Democrats and College
Republicans was rejected in 2002, Williamson said.
Boone
is divided into three polling precincts. Boone 1 is located north
of U.S. Highway 421 and King Street, Board of Elections Supervisor
Jane A. Hodges said.
Boone
2 includes the area south of King Street, north of Rivers Street
and the east side of Water Street. Boone 3 is the area south of
Rivers Street and the west side of Water Street, she said.
“The
Agricultural Center is far away,” College Democrats President
Sosha S. Brecheen said. “The people who live in [Boone 3] are
mainly students, and they have a hard time getting to the Agricultural
Center.
“[Students]
should have a fair chance to vote,” Brecheen said.
As
of mid-July, there were 1,816 registered voters in the Boone 3 precinct,
Williamson said. Of those, she said 1,460 (about 80 percent) are
identifiably students.
The
Agricultural Conference Center is about a half mile from campus.
If the weather is poor on Election Day, it could be a significant
challenge for students to get to the polls, Williamson said.
“Students
… don’t really have very good access to vehicles during
the week, and especially during the day,” she said.
John
S. Hovis is chairman of the Board of Elections.
“[Farthing
Auditorium] did not meet state and federal laws,” Hovis said.
Hovis cited poor security, insufficient parking and poor lighting
as reasons for rejecting Farthing. The proposed area for voting
in Farthing Auditorium was “a hall,” Hovis said.
The
room was not secure because it had three entrances, Hovis said,
but he noted that auditorium employees offered to block two of the
entrances.
“What
we have [at the Agricultural Conference Center] is still much more
accessible,” Hovis said.“I know it might be dangerous
to walk up there, but how many people walk to vote?”
Hovis
said he was sure students could call someone to get transportation
to the polls.
If
the campus Republicans and Democrats want their followers to vote,
they will see to it that voters have transportation, Hovis said.
“That’s
up to the [political] parties to look after that; it’s not
the Board of Elections’ job,” Hovis said.
“To
me, that says ‘We’re not interested in making voting convenient,’”
Williamson said. “All [the Board of Elections’] actions
indicate they want to make it inconvenient to vote in Boone 3.”
Williamson
said Farthing Auditorium did in fact meet all requirements for a
polling location, including handicapped parking and access, adequate
parking, a secure room for non-voters and a required number of square
feet.
The
proposed space in Farthing is a large primary room, approximately
16 feet by 13 feet, with visible 10-feet-wide halls on either side,
she said.
One
of the two entrances (in addition to the main entrance) leads only
to a balcony, Williamson said. The other entrance stays locked,
she said.
As
for lighting, Williamson said, the walls of the room are painted
red, but “you can see just fine.” Any change in a polling
location must be approved 45 days prior to an election, Williamson
said.
“I
would encourage ASU students to demand an accessible polling place,”
Williamson said.
Williamson said the Watauga County Democratic Party will run shuttles
to the Agricultural Conference Center on Election Day.
Students
may also take advantage of early voting Oct. 14-30. Early voters
may cast their ballots at the Board of Elections office behind the
courthouse, Williamson said.
“I
think it’s ridiculous,” Brecheen said. “The students
mean so much to this community. The fact that they don’t want
us to have a say in what goes on here … makes me sick.”
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