Early voting plan too friendly
| to suburbs, critics say
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Proposed early voting
sites that favor suburban
areas are a cause of con
cern for many.
During its meeting
Monday afternoon, the
three-member Forsyth
County Board of
Elections listened as resi
dents expressed their
reservations about a plan
that would create early
voting sites in Rural Hall,
Lewisville, Kernersville
and at the Forsyth County
Government Center in
downtown Winston
Salem for the upcoming
primary election season.
Republicans Ken
Raymond and Stuart
Russell approved the plan
over the objections of
Democrat Fleming El
Amirt and many of those
in attendance who argue
that more early voting
sites are needed in the
city, where most of the
county's voters reside.
mat decision
ignored voters for geogra
phy, and that concerns
me," said Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education mem
ber Elisabeth Motsiriger.
"What they basically did
? is did not make the needs
* of voters paramount to
? their decisions, which is
* their responsibility. Their
? responsibility is to make
^ voting accessible to the
jj citizens of Forsyth
? County."
? Motsinger is up for re
^ election. She is an at
* large member of the
? school board, so voters
* countywide will make
selections in her race.
Philip Carter, a long
time community activist,
told board members that
the lack of early voting
sites in the inner-city
could dissuade some from
participating in the
process. ?
"It will also dilute the
minority vote, as most
minorities - Hispanic and
African American - do
live within the city," he
reasoned.
El-Amin also Relieves
that the majority's early
voting plan is inequitable.
"The premise is that
it's fair for the whole
county, but the fact is that
Winston-Salem consti
tutes the greatest popula
tion of the county," he
stated. "To put most of the
voting sites in the county
instead of the city to me is
insulting."
On Tuesday, he
appealed the board's deci
sion to the state Board of
Elections, offering an
alternative plan with three
voting sites -
Carver School
Road Branch
Library,
L e w i s V i 11 e
Library and the
Board of
Elections - and
extended hours
at the Board of
Elections on
two weekday
evenings. El
Amin says his plan is
more equitable and eco
nomical. as it utilizes one
fewer site.
"Their plan has an
additional cost of
$5,000," he said, refer
encing the anticipated
per-site cost. "We really
can't afford that if we're
going to be fiscally
responsible."
Although he believes
his plan is the better
option for county voters,
El-Amin said he wasn't
optimistic about the state
board, which also has a
GOP majority, accepting
his alternative.
"I'm a pragmatic fel
low; I'll be surprised if
they adopt it," he admit
ted. "But I'm looking for
ward to the arguments so
that I can make the case."
Several residents also
Campbell
asked the board to extend
the evening hours to allow
for voting after normal
business hours or expand
the voting schedule on
Saturday May 3, the only
weekend voting option
during the primary early
voting schedule.
"It is my
understanding
that there's
only one
Saturday vot
ing time, and I
would really
appreciate it if
the board
would consider
enlarging
that," said
Charles
Wilson. "...I want us to
be fair to workers in par
ticular. They need that
extra day."
Raymond did not
respond directly to the
requests, but moved to
approve the pre-deter
mined plan without any
mention of extending or
changing the hours.
Susan Campbell, pres
ident of the Forsyth
County Democratic Party,
called the plan "a little
lopsided." She questioned
the wisdom of a plan that
supplies three sites for 25
percent of county voters
and one site - the Board
of Elections - for the
other 75 percent. The
Rural Hall Branch
Library, which is in the
vicinity of only about
2,000 eligible voters,
compared to the more
than 9,000 voters close to
inner city sites like the
Carver School Road
Branch Library, is partic
ularly puzzling, Campbell
said. County voters tend
to lean conservative,
while voters within the
city limits historically
have tended to favor pro
gressive candidates, mak
ing the plan even more
suspect, Campbell said.
"My first reaction is,
'Well, what about the vot
ers who vote our way -
our party' - but it's not
just about that to me," she
commented. "It just
makes sense (to have the
majority of the sites in the
city). It's a reasonable
way to look at it."
Raymond told meet
ing attendees that the sites
were spread out in an
effort to provide conven
ient early voting options
for citizens countywide.
"We are not the Board
of Elections just for
Winston-Salem. We have
to serve the entire coun
ty," he said. "...We're
doing our best to meet the
requirements (of new vot
ing laws) and to be
absolutely as fair as we
possibly can."
Valene Franco, a can
didate for the newly-cre
ated seat on the Forsyth
County District Court
bench, said the county
locations might make vot
ing difficult for voters
who rely on public trans
portation to get around.
"We definitely want to
make sure that we are
providing as much access
as possible for everybody
who would like to cast an
early vote," said Franco, a
longtime Legal Aid attor
ney who will be seeking
the votes countywide for
the non-partisan seat. "...
There are a lot more peo
ple coming out in the city
areas to early vote, and I
think the more people that
vote, the better."
Raymond limited each
community member to
three minutes each to
comment on the topic of
their choosing, and
reserved his responses for *
the end of the comment
period, offering no oppor
tunity for follow-up ques
tions or rebuttals. After
briefly addressing some
of the statements that
were made, Raymond
closed the public com
ment session and pro
ceeded with the meeting.
"I believe I have
addressed the issues that
were brought up, so I am
going to move on," he
said.
Campbell said she was
infuriated with
Raymond's virtual dis
missal of the concerns
raised by citizens at the
meeting.
"I thought wh all made
some reasonable com
ments and they didn't pay
attention to anything we
said," she declared. "...It
just feels unfair, whether
you're looking at party
politics or not."
Photo by Layla Garms
Charles Wilson addresses Board of Elections members (from left): Fleming El-Amin, Ken Raymond and
Stuart Russell. Also pictured is clerk Judy Speas.
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