Got a problem with where you’re assigned to vote? County officials say you can thank the U.S. Census Bureau.
Angie Amaro, director of the Cumberland County Board of Elections, told CityView census blocks determine where precinct lines are drawn. Major roads like Ramsey Street or Skibo Road often serve as dividing lines between precincts, she said.
“You have to go to that assigned precinct [on] Election Day,” Amaro said. “If you don’t know where you’re supposed to go, contact our office. Or you can look up your voter registration on the state board website and it gives you your polling place.”
According to state law, each precinct’s polling places must be located within the precinct “or on a lot or tract adjoining the precinct.” County board of elections staff can make recommendations to their board on precinct or polling place changes, which are ultimately sent to the State Board of Elections for final approval, the law states.
Changes cannot occur less than 45 days before the next primary or election, according to the law. Affected voters will be sent a notice of precinct change in the mail at least 30 days before an election.
Why it matters
According to the Cumberland County Board of Elections, the county has 77 precincts. Common polling places include schools, churches and fire stations.
Amaro said her staff recommend precinct changes as needed. Most recently, the state approved splitting the Alderman precinct in Hope Mills into three precincts because it had grown too large, she said. The change first took effect for March’s primaries.
“When it’s too large, it’s hitting almost 6,000 registered voters, and their Election Day turnout turns out to be 1,000 [people] or more,” she said. “We know it’s just too much for [poll workers] to handle and we need to split it.”
Sometimes, polling sites will be moved within a precinct, such as the Cross Creek 28-1 and the Lake Rim sites, Amaro said. The board has not combined any precincts during her tenure.
“We want to, but we can’t,” she said. “The board will not approve it.”
Irene Grimes, the chairperson of the Cumberland County Board of Elections, told CityView the board considers issues like accessibility to public transportation when voting on precinct changes.
“The staff have a job to do, and you can’t blame them for asking for what they’re asking, but our considerations as members of the board are different,” Grimes said. “Our priority is access, travel time, public transportation, all that kind of stuff.”
Recent staff requests to combine precincts were voted down because the geographic area of the precinct would have required voters to travel much farther, Grimes said.
“Access is always a big consideration for me,” she said. “If somebody can’t access a voting site, then it doesn’t matter where we put it.”
Staff try to choose polling sites with careful consideration, Grimes said.
“We may not have a building within that precinct that is more suitable than the one we have chosen,” she said. “We try to make sure that we choose buildings that are conducive to voting, that there is enough parking, that we can do a handicapped parking space, that we can have curbside voting.”
Staff try to avoid choosing privately-owned buildings as polling sites because they may try to place restrictions like preventing campaign workers from handing out literature outside of the buffer zone, Grimes said.
“When an issue comes up with a site or when they need a new site, the staff actually physically goes out there,” she said. “We try to make well-thought-out decisions that of course don’t always please everybody, but we try.”
Grimes said voters should remember that polling places aren’t necessarily permanent, though limitations may require county staff to continue to use a polling place that some are unhappy with.
“Sometimes we don’t have a choice, and there are precincts that have been precincts forever and a day, and they will probably remain forever and a day,” she said. “But we look at these things constantly.”
Voters can contact the Cumberland County Board of Elections if they have concerns at 910-678-7733 or boardofelections@cumberlandcountync.gov, though Amaro discourages waiting until Election Day to do so.
“Our phones get busy and you may not get through,” she said. “And this is not a polling place.”
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that there are 77 precincts in Cumberland County.
Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.
