IDs aren't required, but voters will see changes
BY LAYLA GARMS
1 HI CHRONia I
With the May 6 primary elec
tion quickly approaching, voting
rights advocates and candidates
alike are scrambling to make sure
that voters are empowered - and
inspired - to hit the polls and
make their voices heard.
A bevy of changes are slated
to take effect this election cycle,
but the controversial voter ID
measure is not one of them; it
won't be enacted until 2016.
The registration period has
already closed for those who
wish to vote in the primary, and
same day voter registration will
no longer be offered at Early
Voting locations under the new
laws.
The voter registration dead
line for the Nov. 4 General
Election is set for Tuesday, Oct.
10. Straight party voting is now a
thing of the past, and candidates
belonging to the party of the sit
ting governor will now be listed
first in every race. The General
Election early voting period has
also been cut from 17 days to 10,
and teens are not allowed to pre
register unless they will turn 18
before the Nov. 4.
Board of Elections member
Fleming El-Amin says he is con
cerned that local voters will be
discouraged from voting either
because they are confused or
intimidated by the new legisla
tion.
"My overall concern has been
are the citizens really aware of
the changes," El-Amin stated,
noting that he insisted that infor
mation about the new laws be
posted on the Board of Elections
Web site and at every precinct
location. "... As far as I'm con
cerned, there's not enough edu
cation being done to inform the
citizens."
Regulations regarding voter
challenges, provisional and
absentee ballots will also go into
effect this year, El-Amin said.
According to the new laws, state
issued forms are now the only
accepted absentee ballots, where
as letters or notecards
were previously
allowed, and the ballots
must be signed in the
proper location in the
presence of two wit
nesses or a notary pub
lic.
The Board of
Elections rejected nine
absentee ballots at its
last meeting because
they did not meet the
new requirements, El-Amm said.
State issued identification,
such as a drivers license or iden
tification card, will not be
required at the polls until the
2016 election cycle, however
officials will be asking voters
whether they have an approved
ID to determine if they are eligi
ble to obtain a free one from the
state for the purposes of voting in
2016.
Sutton
Susan Campbell, president of
the Forsyth County Democratic
Party, says the laws are a source
of frustration for the party and
other groups that are interested in
getting out the vote.
"We want people
to vote," she said.
"We need to stop
putting up those bar
riers for people to
vote. It's hard
enough to get them
to pay attention."
Voting rights
advocates have
decried the laws
from the beginning,
saying that they were
designed to further disenfran
chise poor and minority voters.
The State of North Carolina is
currently embroiled in two sepa
rate lawsuits challenging the con
stitutionality of the laws.
Democracy NC is part of a
collaborative group of nonparti
san organizations that have
joined forces to take action
through an education and aware
ness event designed to inform
area voters about the voting laws
the North Carolina General
Assembly has enacted. "My
Vote, My Power," which is slated
for Saturday, April 26 at Rupert
Bell Park, will be a chance for
voters to interact with local and
aiaic lanuiuiucs, gel
informed about voting
laws, and ensure that
they have the tools and
information they need
to vote in the upcoming
primary and general
election, organizers
say.
"We're just trying
to get the word out so
people will be more
knowledgeable about
candidates," said Linda
Sutton, a Democracy NC field
organizer. "We had so many peo
ple in the past that actually
depended on straight party voting
... now, you really need to know
who you're voting for."
The Ministers Conference of
Winston-Salem and Vicinity is
also among the partners hosting
the event, which will feature
prizes, free refreshments, and
plenty of opportunities for con
stituents to register to vote and
interact with state and local can
didates. Although the Ministers
Conference is nonpartisan, the
black church has always played a
pivotal role in the fight for social
justice, and the ministers contin
ue to do so through their partici
pation in events such as My Vote,
My Power, explained Rev.
Willard Bass, the organization's
president.
"We thought it would be a
good idea to help the citizens
know first, the importance of vot
ing, and then knowing who to
vote for," he said. "1 think the
issues - even locally and
statewide - are very critical"
Bass believes the voting laws
disproportionately impact the
Bass
poor and people of color. He and
other Ministers Conference
members have traveled to
Raleigh on numerous occasions,
to lend their support to the chorus
of voices calling for change dur
ing Moral Monday protests.
tttr i_
ii you ve oeen
following Moral
Monday and what's
been happening with
our legislature, all of
the bills and action
that the legislature
has taken have been
against the poor and
the needy," he said
"...It's just contrary
to where we need to
be, so it's key, then,
for us to be involved
as a community, because it
behooves us to get involved."
jt .
My Vote, My Power! will be
held on Saturday, April 26 from
1-5 pm. at Rupert Bell Park.
1501 Mt. Zion Place. For more
information, contact Sutton at
336-870-2168. For more infor
mation about changes in voting
laws, visit www.democracy
nc.org.
Early voting will be held
April 24-25 and April 28-May 2
from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on
Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m.-l
p.m. at the Forsyth County
Government Center, 201 North
Chestnut Street. Voting at satel
lite locations (Kernersville
Library, Lewisville Library and
Rural Hall Library) will be open
April 28-29 from 11 a.m.-6 p m
and April 30-May 1 from 11 a.m.
5 pm. The primary will be held
on Tuesday. May 6. For more
information or a full list of voting
hours and locations, visit
wwwfcvotes .com.
Bond
from page A1
posed $175 million bond
would pay for.
"These are not really
wants, these are needs,'
Police Chief Barry
Rountree said about what
his department would reap
from the bond.
Among the Police
Department proposals con
tingent upon a bond are the
creation of satellite police
stations in communities
that the officers patrol. The
satellites, which Rountree
says residents strongly
favor, would be located at
University Parkway and
North Point Boulevard.
Hanes Mall Boulevard and
Jonestown Road and in the
Lucia Building on
Waughtown Street.
Bond funds would also
be used to make repairs at
the aging Public Safety
Center and complete
phase two of renovations at
the Beaty Public Safety
Training and Support
Center to add classrooms,
a forensic lab and evidence
storage facilities.
The Fire Department
would also use bond funds
to update outdated facili
ties, including fire stations
on Ogbum Avenue, Arbor
Road and one near Wake
Forest University, said Fire
Chief Antony Farmer, who
said the upgrades are cru
cial.
Sidewalk repair and
construction, pedestrian
enhancements to Business
40 bridges and new green
ways like the one connect
ing the Waughtown area to
the Peachtree and Salem
Creek greenways are pro
posed as well, according to
City Transportation
Department Director
Toneq' McCullough.
Bond funds would
greatly increase the budget
for road resurfacing, help
ing to make quicker
improvements to weather
battered streets, she added.
Bond money would
also push forward the
long-proposed transforma
tion of the former Union
Station off of Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive into
a multimodal transporta
tion hub that would oper
ate in conjunction with the
downtown Clark Campbell
Transportation Center.
"There will be ameni
ties there for the bus riders,
potentially things like
places to shop or eat,"
McCullough said about the
proposed transportation
center.
Virtually every city
department would receive
an infusion of funds for
projects if the bond
becomes reality.
Community and Business
Development Director
Ritchie Brooks said more
funds would be available
for new home construc
tion. home renovations and
a city loan program that
helps businesses make aes
thetic improvements.
Recreation facilities
like pools, parks and lakes
would see improvements,
and two brand new parks -
a rock quarry off Reynolds
Park Road and Jamison
Park near Meadowlark
Drive - would be con
structed, Recreation and
Parks Director Tim Grant
said.
In addition to asking
questions and giving feed
back to city officials and
Burke - who, along with
other members of the City
Council, will decide in
August whether or not to
place the bond on the bal
lot - those who attended
were asked to fill out and
leave comment cards. If a
bond referendum makes it
to the ballot and voters
approve it, property own
ers could see their tax rate
increase by up to 2.5 cents
in ,July 2015.
Dori Colly spent some
time inquiring about the
proposed recreation
improvements. Her seven
year-old son has special
needs; she thinks the pro
posed splash park at
Winston Lake and facili
ties at the proposed quarry
park would be ideal for
him.
Harold Holmes, a
retired Wake Forest
University dean of Student
Services, said he believes
the improvements would
move the city in the right
direction.
"A lot of it is past my
time to really use it ... but
I've got kids and grandkids
here," he said of the
improvements. "We care
about them and we want to
keep them in this commu
nity. We lose so much of
our college educated kids
to other areas, it would be
nice to have them feel like
there's enough, both
employment and quality of
life-wise, to not ... leave
and set up shop some
where else."
For more information,
including a full schedule of
upcoming community bond
meetings, go to wwn.city
ofws.org/20l4bondsl.
McCullough
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C.
27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Annual subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem. NC 27102-1636
Come To Our Open House
Saturday, April 26 9 a.m. -1 p.m.
Main Campus at 2100 Silas Creek Parkway
Get information about:
- Career-Focused Programs
- College Transfer Programs
-Job Training
~ Financial Aid
- Workshops and
Program Demonstrations
- And Much More!
Apply Now & You Can Begin Classes In May or June!
IgsBSffiillKHll
VMWOTHVPSV
iVww.ForsythTech.edu
2100 Silas Creek Partway Winston-Salem, NC 336.723.0371
IWb1mIS?1 1 iH' I IHIIIP S fr"
mmmm