Voting must be done at polls Tuesday

POLK COUNTY — Polk County definitely turned out early for Tuesday’s election, with almost 36 percent of registered voters turning out prior to Election Day.

Residents cast a total of 5,872 votes, which is a record in Polk County for early voting during a midterm election.

Republicans cast the most votes early, with 2,009, followed closely by unaffiliated voters with 2,008 votes. Democrats cast 1,754 early, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Board of Elections Office.

Women outvoted men in Polk County early by 621 votes, according to unofficial early voting results. Women cast 3,183 votes, compared to men casting 2,562 votes.

There are more registered women voters than men. There were 42 votes cast early by  those who registered as undetermined.

White voters cast 5,390 early votes, compared to 248 black votes, 80 undetermined, 40 other, 15 multiracial, 10 Asian and four American Indian.

“These are unofficial and are likely to be adjusted upward, as this report does not show Green Party, Constitution Party or a handful of last-minute same day registrants,” said Polk County Elections Director Cliff Marr. “The board of elections will certify the official number of regular [early voting and absentee by mail] absentee voters on Monday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. in a public meeting in the Womack building.”

As of Monday, there were still 131 absentee ballots outstanding. Absentee votes must be postmarked by Tuesday to be counted.

Marr said the early voting totals are amazing considering it is for a midterm election and are just short of what Polk County normally sees during a presidential election. Polk County, on average, turns out about 4,000 early voters during a midterm and about 6,000 early votes during a presidential election.

“That’s a very big turnout, especially for one location,” Marr said.

Normally, Polk County turns out around 8,000 voters total for a midterm election. Given the high turnout for early voting, Polk County could surpass turnout for a midterm election, depending on Tuesday’s numbers.

Voters this year are choosing a new sheriff, three seats on the Polk County Board of Commissioners, state and federal positions, judges, and six proposed constitutional amendments.

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Voting can no longer be done at the Polk County Board of Elections Office, as early voting closed on Saturday.

Tuesday’s voting must be done at the registered voter’s polling place, depending on which township the resident resides. The deadline to register to vote has expired.

Polk County has seven polling places: Coopers Gap residents vote at Sunny View Elementary School; Columbus 7 residents vote at Polk County High School; Columbus 8 residents vote at Isothermal Community College-Polk Campus; Green Creek residents vote at the Green Creek Fire Department; White Oak residents vote at the Mill Spring Fire Department; Saluda residents vote at the Saluda Fire Department; and Tryon residents vote at the Harmon Field Log Cabin.

The easiest way to see where a voter is supposed to vote on Tuesday is to look up the information on the state board of election’s website at ncsbe.gov, under the “voter tools” tab.