ELIZABETHTOWN — A dispute brought forth b y the Republican members of the Bladen County Board of Elections over a concern that some polling sites in the county did not have a Republican among the three judges was settled Tuesday.
According to state statutes, there should be at least one Democrat and one Republican judge at each polling site during the election, unless one of the political parties does not submit a name for nomination. In that case, all three judges may be from the same party.
That was the determination of both the attorney for the State Board of Elections and the Johnson & Johnson law firm, which represents the local elections board.
“I still feel that voters in Bladen County will have concerns about the integrity of the election,” said Michael Aycock, a Republican member of the local board.
“It won’t be the first time,” retorted Louella Thompson, a Democrat member and chair of the board.
The issue was quickly put to rest by Allen Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson law firm.
“The board followed the law,” he said. “The law is the law — both the general counsel to the State Elections Board and my law firm believe this board followed the law.”
In other business Monday:
— The board was informed that training for One-Stop poll workers would be held April 12 from 2 to 5 p.m. and April 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. The board also approved a proposed list of poll workers for the early voting period, April 28 to May 14.
— Board members discussed having less than the usual six poll workers at the sites that have far fewer registered voters — in an effort to save the county money. Some of those smaller sites would have only four, which in the minimum allowed by law, while some would have five.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or [email protected].