The Student Union website opens for voting on election day – Appalachian

Plemmons Student Union’s polling station opened at 6:30 a.m. on Election Day in Watauga County along with 19 other sites in the county.

There were four people in line when the polling stations opened at the site. Many voters said they came early to avoid queuing later in the day.

“I just wanted to get here early so I could get in line, get through and get out,” said JL Laws, one of the first four voters at the student union polling place.

Voters can only vote in their assigned precinct on Election Day. If a voter goes to the wrong precinct in the same county they are registered in, they can fill out one preliminary voting and still have their vote counted during the county seat period.

Voters in line said they were concerned about issues like abortion rights. Other voters said faith played a role in coming to vote.

“I just pray, ‘Lord, you know who we need, you know what we need,'” Laws said. “So I’ll leave it up to him.”

Michael Behrent, chairman of the Watauga County Board of Elections, came to vote on the student union website when it opened.

Behrent said he brought a list of people in the county who already voted by absentee ballot to display at the student union polling place. He said it is a “legal requirement” for all polling stations in the county.

“I have to sign them at the Board of Elections,” Behrent said. “So I was down there signing them and decided I was going to join them and vote at the same time.”

The polling stations close at 19.30 today and election results will be updated as they come in overnight and over the next few days.

Flora Seed, a sophomore majoring in social work and voter at the student union polling place, said if voters are still unsure about getting to the polls, “it’s the last day, so you better be sure.”

To stay up to date with live election results, visit The Appalachian’s website.