* *** NEXTDOOR_POSTS_FOR_2019-11-05 TXT - 8 Nov 2019 17:22:54 - JKNAUTH Election News (posted on 8/18/19) ======== ==== If you are seeing this, you are probably in Wake County voting precinct 19-19 or 19-18 (or on the edges). The post's final section is specific to precinct 19-19. The rest applies to both 19-19 and 19-18, but may be of interest to others to prepare for the 2019 and 2020 elections. It is pretty early to talk about the 11/5/19 election, but some people may need a reminder and time to get their registration data in order. Also, you may lately have heard there are questions about voting equipment in some NC counties. Hopefully the information below will show you that Wake County is in good shape in this area. Registration Data; Who Can Vote in the Next Election? (MAYBE NOT YOU!) ------------ ----- --- --- ---- -- --- ---- --------- ------ --- ----- The 11/5/19 election is a MUNICIPAL election. In addition to the normal requirements to be eligible to vote, for this election 19-19 and 19-18 voters must also reside within the municipal corporate limits of either Wake Forest or Rolesville. If you don't reside there, you are "unincorporated" and cannot vote in this municipal election. The "19-19 Information" web page, http://jgkhome.name/WakeBOE/19-19.htm (bookmark this for later use), tells you how to view your recorded municipality: Wake Forest, Rolesville, or Unincorporated. MY STANDARD HARANGUE: If you haven't previously registered to vote, please do so now. If your voter registration information needs to be updated, e.g., because you have moved, please update it now. The "19-19 Information" page, has links to Wake County Board of Elections (WCBOE) web pages where you can view your existing registration data, e.g., to check if you live within the Wake Forest or Rolesville corporate limits. There are also links to a form with which you can either register for the first time or update your existing registration data. Even if you aren't eligible to vote in this election, please register if you haven't already; then you will be set for the 2020 elections, which start very early in the year. Always keep your registration data up-to-date; that makes things go much faster and more smoothly when you vote in any election. Early Voting Sites (There Are Very Few This Time); Absentee Ballots ----- ------ ----- ------ --- ---- --- ---- ------ -------- ------- Because municipal elections often have low voter turnouts, they have fewer early voting (one-stop) sites. Unfortunately, for this election there will be no early voting sites close to our area. To see the sites that will be available, scroll down to the November section of this WCBOE page: http://www.wakegov.com/elections/info/early/Pages/default.aspx. As described in "19-19 Information" and the linked WCBOE page, you can instead vote via a mail-in absentee ballot. For the November election, you can now already submit your request for an absentee ballot, but the WCBOE won't start to process those requests until after they finish absentee ballot requests for the Raleigh/Cary October election. Just don't put it off to the last minute; there are time constraints for getting and mailing an absentee ballot. New Voting Equipment for Wake County --- ------ --------- --- ---- ------ Starting with this election we will be using some new voting equipment, mainly a new tabulator, the thing into which you slide your ballot after marking it. From a voter's perspective, procedures will be the same as in prior years -- use the pen supplied in the voting booth to fill out small ovals on a paper ballot, then slide the ballot into the tabulator slot to cast it. Wake County is not affected by the equipment uncertainties some other NC counties are currently experiencing. Wake County's new system was approved long ago by the state and county BOEs. All the new Wake County equipment has been bought, delivered, and tested and is ready to go for this election. The new equipment has fewer mechanical parts. That should make it more reliable than the old equipment, which was about 13 years old and starting to show its age. With the new tabulator, any ballot with a write-in selection will have a digital image recorded for later processing. All cast ballots, including ballots with write-ins, will now go into one bin. In contrast, with the old equipment a big mechanical diverter underneath the tabulator had to move with each ballot cast to sort the ballot into either a counted-ballots bin or a write-in ballots bin. That diverter movement was the big "clunk" you heard when you entered your ballot. Unfortunately the diverter was pretty trouble-prone. We'll be happy to see it retired. As a side benefit, since there is no longer a diverter or a write-in bin, space is available for a much larger counted-ballots bin, which can now hold many more cast ballots. Thus we will less often have to ask voters to wait while we empty the bin. The new tabulator has a much bigger screen and will more clearly show the voter that either the cast ballot was read successfully or there was something that needs attention, e.g., ovals were poorly marked or too many ovals were marked in some race. Also, security has been improved, e.g., by using encryption for certain data and by using hardened (restricted function) computers. All in all, it looks like a much improved system, but without changing what the voter must do. I think voters will like it. Photo ID Not Required This Time; Get Ready for the 2020 Elections ----- -- --- -------- ---- ----- --- ----- --- --- ---- --------- As was the case in 2018, a photo ID is NOT required for this election. Those new ID procedures should begin with the March 2020 Primary election. Much more will be said about this early next year, but an unexpired NC driver license is probably what most people will use. The 11/5/19 municipal election is non-partisan. Thus your current party affiliation is not a consideration for this election and you won't be asked to state it. However party affiliation will be very important for the FOLLOWING election, the March 2020 Primary (3/3/20). You can get a form at your polling place on 11/5/19 to change your current party affiliation or any other registration data. Any changes made on 11/5/19 will apply for *subsequent* elections, e.g., the March 2020 Primary, not to the 11/5/19 election. Alternatively to get this form you can always use the WCBOE website mentioned above, http://www.wakegov.com/elections Be sure to submit any updates well before the election to which you want those changes to apply. For example, you CANNOT request a change for your party affiliation on the March 2020 Primary election day and have it apply to the election that day. A party affiliation change submitted on 3/3/20 would not apply until the NEXT primary election, which would probably be two years away. Long before 3/3/20 the WCBOE website will have details about associated registration update deadlines, etc., for that election. Don't wait until the last minute. Specifics for 19-19 Voters: SCES Polling Place; New Traffic Signals --------- --- ----- ------- ---- ------- ------ --- ------- ------- The "19-19 Information" web page has much more for precinct 19-19 voters, particularly about the 19-19 polling place, Sanford Creek Elementary School (SCES). There are maps, parking hints, how to avoid the school's "carpool" lines, a voting enclosure diagram, pictures, etc. See http://jgkhome.name/WakeBOE/19-19.htm. It should now be easier to find the 19-19 polling place if you come by Rogers Rd. Rolesville recently extended Granite Falls Blvd. to cross Rogers Rd. and has placed many overhead traffic signals at that intersection -- three in each direction on Rogers Rd. Using the very visible traffic signals as a trail marker, you will be less likely to overshoot and miss the turn onto Granite Falls Blvd. Once you turn onto Granite Falls (a left turn when coming from Wake Forest or a right turn when coming from Rolesville), go 0.6 miles to get to the *correct* entrance drive to Sanford Creek Elementary School, which is up on a hill on the right side of Granite Falls Blvd. Of course we will have signs along the way. For some detailed maps, see the "19-19 Information" web page. Jeff Knauth Chief Judge for Precinct 19-19 ######################################################################## Municipal Election in Precinct 19-19 (posted on 10/30/19) ========= ======== == ======== ===== Most people seeing this post live in Precinct 19-19. This is a reminder about the 11/5/19 municipal election at the Sanford Creek Elementary School 19-19 polling place. See http://jgkhome.name/WakeBOE/19-19.htm for maps and for guidance to avoid the school's carpool lines. Jeff Knauth Chief Judge for Precinct 19-19