Among the many decisions voters have to make in this year’s election, one could completely change the structure of a local race.

A referendum item on the ballot asks voters to approve or reject a measure to change the structure of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners race. 

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners is an elected board made up of five members. The board makes decisions on various issues including county services, land and public safety. 

Senate bill 759, passed in the North Carolina General Assembly in October 2023, restructured the Watauga County Board of Commissioners race. The bill instated staggered four-year terms for board members, requiring them to live in the districts where they run.

The bill also requires voters to live in the district where they are voting. In the 2024 election, three districts are holding elections, including Districts 3, 4 and 5. Districts 1 and 2 are not holding elections for the board of commissioners this year. 

In previous years, voters in all five districts in Watauga County voted for each candidate running for the Watauga County Board of Commissioners. 

“The citizens in Watauga County, their voice was not being heard,” said Ronnie Marsh, the Republican candidate running in District 4 of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners at the meet the candidates forum Sept. 16. “Everything was being housed around the city limits of Boone and around the university.” 

Larry Turnbow, current chair of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, said he was unaware voters felt like they were not being represented. 

“This had never been discussed or brought to the board since I’ve been on the board for eight years,” Turnbow said. 

Turnbow said he is concerned with the restructuring of the race because of the different population sizes in the various districts of the county. 

According to a 2023 household and population

survey in Watauga County, the district populations are as follows:

• District 1: 9,391 people
• District 2: 10,853 people
• District 3: 9,909 people
• District 4: 8,053 people
• District 5: 9,750 people 

According to the survey, District 2 and District 4 have a population difference of 2,800 people.

“It gives more empowerment to District 4 which will have a representative being elected by less voters,” Turnbow said.

The race in District 4 is between incumbent Democrat Charlie Wallin and Marsh. 

Turnbow’s concern led him to meet with a mapmaker to consider different options for the board of commissioners race. 

Turnbow said he wanted to balance the concerns of voters who felt they were not being represented and creating districts with equal population sizes.

“That was the best plan that we could come up with to serve the purposes of individuals feeling like they had a direct commissioner representing them,” Turnbow said. “But also having two at large that looked out for the needs of the entire county.”

The mapmaker proposed three maps each with divisions of three districts in the county. The race would elect a single commissioner from each of the three districts and have two at large commissioners. The maps were labeled A, B and C.

At a June 18 meeting, the board of commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to adopt a referendum using map option A. 

The referendum establishes three commissioner districts in Watauga County and two at large districts based on map A.

The population of the three districts in map A are as follows:

• District 1: 18,410
• District 2: 17,758
• District 3: 17,995

  The referendum asks voters to vote “for” or “against” the proposed map. The map would not go into effect until 2032 if voters approve it as elections will operate on a staggered basis with the current map in place. 

Currently, three county commissioners are running for reelection including Republican Braxton Eggers, Republican Todd Castle and Wallin. 

Eggers and Castle’s terms expire in 2026. If they win their respective races they will begin new terms that expire in 2028 and will aid in selecting candidates to fill their previous positions.

“An elected official’s term cannot be cut short,” said Matthew Snyder, Watauga County director of elections. “So those seats will be up for determination.”

If Castle and Eggers lose their respective seats, they will fill the large positions on the board of commissioners as at large candidates.

Castle, the Republican incumbent in District 5, said elections in the county should be staggered between districts to prevent having “five random commissioners.”

“There has to be something called continuity of government,” Castle said. “The district voting was not set up to disenfranchise anyone, it was actually set up to level the playing field for those who felt disenfranchised.” 

The Appalachian will continue to cover the outcome of the referendum for the commissioners’ race and all other races in the 2024 general election on its website.