By Kathy Chaffin
Salisbury Post
CLEVELAND ó Beginning with the May 6 primary, residents will cast their votes at Town Hall instead of the Cleveland Elementary School gymnasium.
The Cleveland Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to approve a request by the Rowan County Board of Elections to change the polling place from the elementary school gym to Town Hall.
Commissioner John I. Steele said the Town Hall would certainly be warmer than the school gym.
Mayor Jim Brown said the Town Hall also has better parking. And it’s safer, added John R. Steele, secretary of the Elections Board.
Mayor Pro Tem Danny Gabriel had a question about the signs put up around the polling site.
John R. Steele said signs would only be allowed within 24 hours of the election and are required by law to be at least 50 feet from the door. “That is the first thing the chief judge does in the morning is get the tape and measure,” he said.
In answer to a question by Commissioner Mary Frank “Frankie” Fleming-Adkins, John R. Steele said early ballots cast in the November election would be kept in a closet under a triple seal system. He said the ballots would likely be inside a locked container inside of a locked cage inside of a closet, bolted shut with a chain and lock.
“With tigers and lions,” Commissioner Pat Phifer joked.
“You can’t afford any question,” John R. Steele said, “ever.”
Gabriel said having elections at the Town Hall could eventually lead to some cost for the town, but it shouldn’t be that much.
Brown said, “I don’t think that’s anything we can’t take care of. If it gets more people out to vote, it’s worth it.”
John I. Steele said, “It is the Town Hall and is to be used by the citizens.”
Phifer said he hopes every person in town turns out to vote.
John R. Steele said he expects a turnout of at least 60 percent in the Nov. 4 general election.
Prior to this year, county residents voting during the early voting period had to do so at the county office. This year, however, John R. Steele said early voting will also be allowed in the southern and eastern ends of the county during the May 6 primary and expanded to include the Cleveland and Spencer polling sites for the Nov. 4 election.
Expanding the locations for early voting is another attempt to make voting more accessible for residents, he said. “Voting keeps changing after every election.”
John R. Steele thanked board members for approving the Board of Elections request. “It’s a way for you to get people to come in and see your pretty building,” he said.
Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-4249 or kchaffin@salisburypost.com.