Election Images1Cherokee County

Board of Elections

Members 

  • Gary Kilpatrick, Chairman
  • Charles Hoesch, Board Member
  • Shelly Debty, Board Member
  • Sandy Solesbee, Board Member
  • Craig Allen, Secretary

The Board of Elections now consists of five members. Three Democrats and two republicans each elected to a two year term.

Objective

The goal of the Cherokee County Board of Elections is to provide lawful, efficient, and timely execution of all elections. Our objective is to strive toward a progressive election process that meets every measure of the law as well as the demands of the 21st Century. We aim to provide fair elections for the Federal Government, the State of North Carolina, and Cherokee County. For more information on local and State Elections please visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections website. http://www.ncsbe.gov/

The Board of Elections holds their regular monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of every month at 4:00. The location is 40 Peachtree St. Murphy, NC 28906. All meetings are open to the public. If you would like to be put on the agenda for a meeting please contact the Board of Elections office at 828-837-6670. 


Voter IDID WILL BE REQUIRED FOR VOTING BEGINNING WITH THE 2023 MUNICIPal ELECTIONS

Voters will now be asked to present a valid photo identification when voting in person. If you do not have a valid photo ID card, you may obtain one from your county board of elections prior to the election, through the end of the early voting period. 


If you do not have a valid photo ID card on Election Day, you may still vote and have your vote counted by signing an affidavit of reasonable impediment (or “Photo ID Exception Form”) as to why you have not presented a valid photo ID. The Exception Form can also be used if you have a religious objection to being photographed or are a victim of a recently declared natural disaster. 


As an alternative, if you don’t have your ID when you vote, you can still vote and then bring your valid photo ID to your county board of elections by 5 p.m. on the ninth day after Election Day (or the sixth day after Election Day for September or October local elections).


If you vote by mail, then you must include a photocopy of a valid photo ID when returning your ballot. You may also complete the Absentee Photo ID Exception Form that is provided with your absentee ballot materials.


A list of all types of ID that can be used for voting is available on the State Board of Elections Voter ID webpage. For information on how to get a free ID, see Get a Free Voter Photo ID.




Mark Your Calendar

2024 Second Primary Election

A second primary will take place on May 14, 2024, for the following contests:

  • Republican nomination for lieutenant governor:
    • Hal Weatherman
    • Jim O’Neill
  • Republican nomination for state auditor:
    • Jack Clark
    • Dave Boliek

Absentee Request forms for 2024 Elections are now available!!

Download the form here

Absentee Board Meeting 1 - April 9th @ 4:00

Absentee Board Meeting 2 - April 16th @ 4:00

Absentee Board Meeting 3 - April 23rd @ 4:00

Early Voting begins for Second Primary April 25th - 8:00 am

Absentee Board Meeting 4 - April 30th @ 4:00

Absentee Meeting 5 - May 7th at 4:00

Last Day to request Absentee by mail - May 7th @ 5:00

Early Voting ends - May 11th @ 3:00

Absentee Board Meeting 6 - May 13th @ 5:00

Election Day - May 14th

November 5, 2024 Statewide General Election

EARLY VOTING AVAILABLE WEEKDAYS FROM 8:00 AM TO 5:00 PM. 

SATURDAY VOTING WILL BE mAY 11TH FROM 8:00 AM TO 3:00 PM


10 Tips for Election Day Voters -- 2024 Primary Election Edition


 


Raleigh, N.C. — The 2024 primary election in North Carolina is Tuesday, March 5. The following are 10 tips for Election Day voters:

1)    Know the rules for a primary election. Primaries are elections used to determine each political party’s nominees who will advance to the general election in November. In a partisan primary, voters affiliated with a political party may only vote their party’s ballot and may not vote in another party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose any one political party’s ballot or a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction. There are Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian primaries in our state this year. An unaffiliated voter may choose to participate in one of these party primaries, while a voter who is registered as a Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian will receive their party’s ballot. For more information, see Upcoming Election.

2)    Go to your assigned polling place on Election Day. Statewide, nearly 2,600 polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters in line at 7:30 p.m. will be able to cast a ballot. To find your polling place, use the Voter Search tool on the State Board’s website, NCSBE.gov.

3)    Find your sample ballot. Voters can use the State Board’s Voter Search tool to locate their sample ballot. The ballot shows the contests that you’ll be voting on. Using Voter Search, pull up your voter record, then scroll down to the “Your Sample Ballot” section. 

4)    Bring your photo ID. You will be asked to show photo ID at your polling place when you check in to vote. Most voters will simply show their driver’s license, but there are many other acceptable photo IDs. For more information, including the full list of acceptable IDs, visit BringItNC.com. Voters who do not have photo ID when they vote can make sure their vote counts by either (1) filling out a form explaining why they are unable to show ID, or (2) showing their ID at their county board of elections office by 5 p.m. March 14, the ninth day after the election.

5)    Voters may not register on Election Day in North Carolina. While that is the general rule, voters who become eligible after the regular voter registration deadline, either due to becoming a U.S. citizen or having their rights restored following a felony conviction, are still permitted to register on Election Day.

6)    If you need assistance, request it at your polling place. Curbside voting is available for voters who are unable to enter the voting place without assistance due to age or disability. Once inside the polling place, voters who experience difficulties should request help from an election worker. For more information, see the Help for Voters with Disabilities page.

7)    State and federal laws forbid intimidation or interference with voters. This includes hindering access to the voting place, whether inside or outside the voting site. It is also a crime to interfere with election officials carrying out their duties. Penalties for violations include prison time, a fine, or both. The State Board takes these incidents very seriously. When they occur, we will work with our law enforcement partners to respond. Voters who are harassed or intimidated should notify an election official immediately.

8)    Election results will be posted at the State Board’s Election Results DashboardSee also the Election Night Reporting Timeline for information on when the public can expect unofficial results on election night.

9)    If you still plan to vote an absentee ballot, act fast. The deadline to have your ballot delivered to the county board of elections is 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Election Day. If you are unsure that the postal service or another delivery service will deliver your ballot by Tuesday, you can instead drop it off at your county board of elections office during business hours, or at an early voting site through 3 p.m. Saturday, when early voting ends. Or you can decide to vote in person on Election Day, and discard your absentee ballot.

10) If you’re participating in the election – as a voter, poll worker, observer, or campaigner – please treat others with dignity and respect. We know the political climate in our country is tense. But let’s make North Carolina a model for accessible, safe, secure, and accurate elections.  

For more information about voting on Election Day, see Vote in Person on Election Day.




State Board Certifies 2024 Primary Election; Second Primaries to Be Held May 14


 


Raleigh, N.C. — The State Board of Elections on Tuesday unanimously certified the results of the 2024 primary election in North Carolina and ordered several second primaries to be held on May 14.

The bipartisan State Board voted 5-0 to canvass the votes cast in all ballot items within the jurisdiction of the State Board and authenticate county-level results. 

The state certification came after the 100 county boards of elections certified results at the county level in mid-March and after post-election audits conducted in the past couple weeks verified the counts.

The State Board will issue certificates of nomination to the prevailing candidates in contests under State Board jurisdiction. The Secretary of State provides results of the presidential preference primary to the state political parties.

There are three contests under county board jurisdiction that are still subject to election protests: the Democratic nomination for NC Senate District 41, and the Republican nominations for NC House Districts 73 and 82.

View the canvass documents

See the executive director’s 2024 Primary Election Canvass & Certification Report

More than 1.8 million registered North Carolinians voted in the primary, a 24% turnout.

“Today, the State Board made sure that the votes of 1.8 million North Carolinians who voted in the primary were counted,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “We appreciate the hard work of election officials and poll workers across North Carolina who helped make this primary a success. We now turn our attention to the second primary in May and, of course, the presidential election in November.”

Post-election Audits and Recounts

After every election, elections officials conduct a series of audits and, when necessary, recounts, to confirm the election results.

Findings of post-election audits are detailed in the Post-Election Audit Report for the Primary Election on March 5, 2024. 

Put simply, the audits confirmed that results tabulated by machine are accurate and that there is no evidence of fraud or other irregularities that could have affected outcomes in the primary.

Also, county boards of elections conducted machine recounts in close contests across the state. These recounts found the initial machine counts were accurate, with very small differences in some counts but no changes in winners. 

“These audits and recounts once again showed that voters can trust the certified and tested voting equipment to accurately count ballots in North Carolina elections,” Brinson Bell said.

Second Primaries

The State Board on Tuesday also ordered second primaries to be held on May 14, 2024, for the following contests under State Board jurisdiction: Republican nomination for lieutenant governor (Hal Weatherman and Jim O’Neill), Republican nomination for state auditor (Jack Clark and Dave Boliek), and Republican nomination for U.S. House District 13 (Kelly Daughtry and Brad Knott).

Under state law, a second primary may be requested by the second-place candidate if no candidate receives more than 30% of the votes cast in that contest.

Also, on the county level, a second primary will be held for the Republican nomination for the South Point Township District on the Gaston County Board of Commissioners (Jim Bailey and Ronnie Worley). And in Orange County, a runoff will take place for a third seat on the Orange County Schools Board of Education (Jennifer Moore and Bonnie Hauser).

For more information on the second primary, see Upcoming Election.

County Board Appointments

In other business, the State Board appointed the following individuals as Democratic members of county boards of elections as follows:

  • Duplin: Michael Edward Lynch 
  • Robeson: Tim Renard Heath 
  • Washington: Kennedy Lee Barber 
  • Yadkin: Thomas Allen Poindexter 

ELECTION RESULTS