Director of Board of Elections clarifies provisional ballot counting
March 3, 2020
Murmurs that passed throughout long lines of the Plemmons Student Union voting site brought questions for provisional ballot voters. Director of the Watauga County Board of Elections, Matt Snyder explained how provisional ballots are counted Watauga County.
“If you’re voting out of precinct, your ballot will be counted. If you’re not registered in Watauga County, your ballot will not be counted. Usually about half our provisional ballots are counted, and about half aren’t,” Snyder said. “Usually the ones that are counted are voting out of precinct and the ones that are not counted, we don’t have any record of their registration in Watauga County.”
Snyder said voters can look up their registration to see their polling location on the state board of elections’ voter lookup tool.
“You can put it in your information and see if you’re registered, and it’ll tell you where (your polling sit is),” Snyder said. “They also have an option on there if you want to know your polling place, you can put in your address and see where you should vote for a regular ballot on election day.”
Snyder said he has heard about a few issues, with the biggest being a ballot jam at the Blue Ridge precinct. He also said the board wasn’t sure what to expect today because of low early voter turnout, but there has been a steady turnout throughout the county.
“I’m glad to see it’s sunny and not snowing,” Snyder said. “It’s a great process, and we appreciate everybody getting involved and expressing their right to vote.”
