The Bladen County Board of Elections met on Wednesday morning and received several updates from Bladen County Board of Elections Director Cynthia Shaw. Board of Elections member Brian Hehl was unable to attend the meeting.
Shaw updated the board on the One Stop hours and said that the State Board of Elections had voted to deny the county’s request to reduce the hours by one-half hour.
“We have to make it up,” said Shaw.
“Do we have to add one-half hour at each site?” asked Board Chairman Bobby Ludlum.
Shaw said that the staff at the Board of Elections office had already adjusted the hours to add back the one-half hour at each site.
Next was a discussion on the redistricting issue. Shaw reminded the Board that state officials are gearing up for the 2020 redistricting and Bladen County GIS may be asked to assist with the effort. Shaw told the Board that if any district lines have to moved, it must go through all of the proper procedures.
Shaw also updated the Board regarding the issue with a federal court ruling stating the Congressional Districts 1 and 12 were unconstitutional.
“The state has until February 19 to redraw the lines and present a plan,” said Shaw.
She told the board that the counties have been notified by the State Board of Elections officials in Raleigh and asked if they would have the funds in the budget for a special election.
“All we know at this point (Wednesday morning), is they (State Board of Elections officials) have told us to keep moving forward,” said Shaw.
Ludlum said that there are several options available. One option is for the US Supreme Court to issue a stay and let the state redraw the district lines for the 2018 election. A second option is to move forward with redrawing the district lines and making ballots already cast null and void and a third option is to put the Primary Election off until April.
Ludlum also reminded the Board that the courts have not ruled on the state’s Voter ID law and Same Day Voter Registration laws. He added that the Board of Elections should know what will happen with the redistricting issue by Friday afternoon.
Another item for discussion was the fact that the county has 4,189 voters who are shown as inactive meaning they have not voted in the last two federal elections. Bladen County has 22,174 registered voters.
Ludlum remarked that number is almost 20 percent of the registered voters in Bladen County. Shaw said that Board of Elections staff has sent a mass mailing to the voters to see if they could get updated information from them and restore them to active status.
Board of Elections Secretary Al Daniels asked if anyone has contacted the political party chairmen in the county to see if they could help with the situation. Shaw said that both party chairmen have received a copy of the list. Daniels also asked how many of the inactive voters were deceased.
Shaw indicated the staff don’t know the answer to that question. She explained that the staff are notified by either the Register of Deeds office when the death certificate is filed or by the family members of the deceased when a person dies in Bladen County. Shaw added that when a person dies outside of North Carolina, the staff doesn’t always know that.
Shaw also explained that when a voter dies, the staff cannot simply remove their name from the voter registration rolls. She said there is a form that must be completed and the staff must have a copy of the death certificate and it is placed with the voter’s profile.
Shaw said that if the voter is inactive, they have a couple of options to get themselves back into the active status. She said they can go to a One Stop site and give them their address. Shaw said if the address is different than the one on file, they will get it updated or get them re-registered.
It was decided to send a letter to the party chairmen reminding them they have the last and setting a deadline for them to return any information they receive regarding inactive voters to the Board of Elections staff.
Shaw also discussed the fact that there have been some concerns about the activities of political action committees in the county. After some discussion, Shaw said that there is a complaint form a candidate can complete.
Shaw also updated the board regarding the placement of an extra help desk at the One Stop site located at the Bladen County Public Library. She said she was adding that help desk because the library receives the most traffic during One Stop voting. She also said each One Stop site in the county will also have a help desk.
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