Watauga County Elections Board, ASU Lock Horns Over Controversial Voting Site

This week's public board meeting to decide upon a one-stop early voting plan for the county turned ugly, with angry shouts from community members in attendance directed against the board and partisan gridlock. When, for the second time the three-member panel was unable to come to a unanimous decision, some in the crowd called for board members to resign. It will now be up to the State Board of Elections to decide whether or not the Plemmons Student Union will be an early voting site this year.

Over the years, this has become a popular, centralized site for students to cast their ballots, and the overwhelming majority of those in attendance at the Board of Elections meeting spoke out in favor of maintaining the location. But Republican Board of Elections Chairman Bill Aceto, says there have been problems there, like lots of traffic and difficulty enforcing the buffer zone between voters and people passing out campaign literature. He says the nearby Legends Building would be a better choice to serve the entire community, but adds the University isn't willing to make that happen.

"I made it very clear that I had reservations. I had witnessed violations," he says. "They are on record. And it was unfortunate that we couldn't come up to a mutual decision of an alternate voting site that would benefit all parties."

Matthew Dockham, a spokesman for ASU Chancellor Sheri Everts, says the Legends Building has its own issues. He says the facility is not air-conditioned, the roof is old and in poor repair, and the building is in a low-lying area that's susceptible to flooding. The university argues that there's no need to change the current site.

“The Plemmons facility is much newer and [in] much better shape. It provides an environment that satisfies safety requirements and convenience for folks that want to take place in the process,” says Dockham. He adds that the Chancellor would be happy to discuss objections to the Plemmons facility and address them before the November election, but he says her office has yet to receive documentation of specific polling violations. 

Voting turnout on campus was 15,000 last year, and this year's is projected to top 17,000. The student union site has been in the crosshairs before, when in 2014 the board of elections moved to close it. The State Supreme Court weighed in, and left the voting spot in place.