Tom Joyce
Staff Reporter
DOBSON — In a sign of things to come for the November election, more than 1,100 requests for absentee ballots already have been received from Surry residents in the program’s early stages, the county’s elections director said Friday.
“It started Monday,” Susan Jarrell of the Board of Elections said Friday afternoon of the mailing of absentee ballots to those requesting them.
“Right now, we’re up to 1,019 for this week,” the board’s director added of the amount processed so far. “That’s a lot.”
That figure didn’t included another 100 requests received later Friday, for which absentee ballots were expected to be mailed back to voters on Saturday — pushing to total to more than 1,100.
Jarrell earlier had predicted a record turnout for the Nov. 4 general election based on early indicators such as larger-than-usual numbers of people registering to vote. Despite extra manpower and equipment being allocated for Election Day, long lines are still expected then, she has said, which prompted officials to encourage citizens to take advantage of absentee balloting.
“People are obviously looking ahead and thinking about it, and we’re happy about that,” Jarrell said Friday.
Any registered voter in North Carolina can request to vote an absentee ballot by mail or in person at the county Board of Elections. In North Carolina, citizens do not need an excuse for voting absentee, such as being out of the county on Election Day.
All requests for absentee ballots by mail must be in writing. Requests can be mailed, faxed, emailed or delivered in person to the elections office in Dobson. A request must contain the voter’s name as registered, the person’s residential address in the county, the address where the voter wants the ballot mailed to and the individual’s signature. The listing of one’s date of birth and telephone number is optional.
Requests for absentee ballots can be submitted no later than the Tuesday before the Election Day, or Oct. 28.
The requests can be made by the voter, a near relative or verifiable legal guardian. North Carolina defines a near relative as a spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, step-parent or step-child.
Upon receipt of a request, the Board of Elections will send the voter an absentee ballot, an application on a container-return envelope and instructions for completing the ballot.
The Board of Elections begins mailing out the absentee ballots 50 days before an election, the process that started this week.
Recipients have until the day before the election, by 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, to return the completed ballots to the board.
The 1,019 absentee ballots that had been mailed as of Friday afternoon included 247 for registered Democrats, 560 for Republicans and 212 to persons registered as unaffiliated voters.
Jarrell attributed the wide difference between Republican and Democratic requests to a special effort mounted by the GOP to encourage voters to use the absentee-ballot procedure, which likely resulted in higher figures for that party.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtaiynews.com, or at 719-1924.
The North Carolina Republican Party is asking your help with a very important endeavor. Supporters from Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina have expressed great interest in coming to North Carolina at various intervals over the next six weeks. They are willing to travel to our state at their own expense to help elect John McCain, Sarah Palin, and other Republicans on November 4. 
Posted by ncfifthdistrict 
Posted by ncfifthdistrict 
Posted by ncfifthdistrict 
