Another change is afoot ahead of the upcoming General Election in November as the Surry County Board of Elections announced this week a second polling place relocation.
According to Surry County Director of Elections Michella Huff the board of elections voted recently to relocate the South Westfield precinct. The new polling locations for South Westfield Precinct # 28 will be Jessup Grove Baptist Church, 896 Jessup Grove Road in Pilot Mountain.
Huff said the polling place location change did not need the approval from the State Board of Elections as it is within the same precinct boundary. Prior to the change, voters in the South Westfield precinct were casting their ballots at Westfield Elementary School.
Voters who are affected by the relocation of the South Westfield precinct will be sent a letter from the board of elections notifying them of the change. She also said that Party Chairs, elected officials, and all candidates running for office will be informed of the change.
Huff said that the new precinct was considered based on its location and population that allows for efficient and accurate administration of elections. Consideration of available polling places and access to those sites was researched before such changes were made. The new polling site was scrutinized for an ample voting enclosure, adequate voter parking, and to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Surry County Board of Elections made a similar change in May when it approved another polling site relocation for the Pilot Precinct # 32. It was relocated to the Pilot Mountain Rescue & EMS facility at 615 East 52 Bypass in Pilot Mountain.
Pilot Mountain Rescue and EMS replaces the prior polling location at Armfield Civic Center.
Both sets of changes are to be fully implemented and in effect for the General Election on Nov. 5. To ensure that voters can find the new polling locations, signage will be placed at the former polling locations directing voters to their new polling place.
It appears there is a continued preference locally from both school leaders and election boards to relocated polling places away from public schools.
Other counties have made the decision to modify their schedules to allow campuses to be used as polling places on elections day. Thirty schools in Guilford County went to remote learning in March for the primary; all Wake County students got that day off.
“We’ve had parents that have come to us, and we are a little concerned with the additional traffic on our campuses during election times... Not to mention just the general disruption of our activities on our campus; our kids are very structured,” Surry County Board of Education Chair Dale Badgett explained to the elections board.
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections data from May, of 2,617 polling locations across the state 552 of those are found on school campuses.
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