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County's polling site was busiest in state on opening day of early voting

Ann B'Rells hands out Democratic Party material at the Henderson County Board of Elections.

By Bill Moss, Published: October 18, 2018

The Henderson County Elections Board office was the busiest polling site in the state as one-stop voting opened on Wednesday.

The site had 1,845 voters on Wednesday, the most of any site across the state, according to Vote Tracker site run by the Civitas Institute. Part of the reason is the drop in the number of site. Henderson County has dropped one-stop sites in Etowah, Flat Rock and Edneyville, concentrating all the early voters at a single polling place. Even so, the numbers suggested a strong start for the early voting. In 2014, the last mid-term election, 16,997 Henderson County residents voted early. Voting was steady on Thursday but not quite as busy as opening day, with 799 voters 12:47 p.m., said Elections Director Beverly Cunningham.

Statewide, Democrats had turned out so far in much larger numbers; 64,258 Democrats voted on Wednesday, topping 45,067 Republicans, 39,151 unaffiliated voters and 333 Libertarians.

Voting at the Elections Board off Spartanburg Highway is busiest from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"I recommend they come from 7 to 10 (in the morning) and 3 to 7" in the afternoon, Cunningham said.

Ann B'Rells, a Democratic activist handing out palm cards outside the polling place, said traffic had been steady.

"I can't judge the turnout because there's one site instead of four," she said. "On the other hand, people I meet seem very intent on voting."

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One-stop voting is at the Board of Elections office, 75 East Central Street (off Spartanburg Highway behind O’Reilly Auto Parts). Hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, through Saturday, Oct. 27; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, through Friday, Nov. 2; 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Information: 828-697-4970. Polls are open on Election Day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at all 35 polling sites. Click here to find your polling place.