With the 2024 Presidential Election fast approaching, Rowan County officials have made some changes to voting precincts. Elwood Caudill Jr. is the Clerk for Rowan County. He said in the last general election, voters had to go to their assigned precinct to vote. This made casting a ballot inconvenient for some people who worked or happened to be somewhere else in the county on election day.
Caudill said now, voters can cast their ballot at any of seven polling places thanks to a new system.
“It's called Print on Demand, so the E-poll Book will print out a ticket, and the scanner, we scan that ticket, and it'll print your ballot. Then the tally computer at the end of the night will put you in your precinct. So, we still have precincts, but you can vote anywhere,” Caudill said.
Caudill said this system will help people in Rowan County who travel around the region.
“Say you live out 801 but you work at the hospital, you can run down to the conference center and vote. If you live way up Hogtown, and you work out 801 at the factories out there, you can run out to the armory and vote there. You do not have to vote at your home precinct. You can vote at any precinct you like,” said Caudill.
The seven polling places in the county are, the Morehead Conference Center downtown, the National Guard Armory on 801, the Carl Perkins Center, the Family Life Center on 801 south, the Patriarchs Youth Center on Hogtown Hill, the Haldeman Fire Department, and the 377 Fire Department on Cranston Road. Caudill said this system was used successfully in Rowan County during this year’s primary election.
Election day is November 5. The polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Early in-person no-excuse voting takes place the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before election day.