(LINCOLNTON, GA) – Lincoln County will have three precincts for upcoming elections, including two new facilities after the Board of Elections approved the request by Elections Director Livender Bolton on behalf of the Board Wednesday afternoon.
The plan calls for election board offices and a precinct at the Walker Norman Gymnasium at the Recreation Center on Rowland-York Road in Lincolnton, the new EMS station on Highway 220 on the south end of the county, and the existing Midway precinct on Highway 79 in the north. The plan eliminates current precincts at Tabernacle Baptist Church, the Lincoln Center, the Lincolnton Clubhouse, and Martins Crossroads.
(L-R) Office Clerk Shertanka Wright, Executive Director Lilvender Bolton, Board Chairman Glen Creech, Board members Jhandi Matthews and Brenda Leopard, County Attorney Ben Jackson.
The changes were opposed by the roughly 20 attendees at the meeting. Elections Office Clerk Shertanka Wright told the crowd, “We assure you our goal is to provide the best service for the voters,” and that the changes were necessary because “parking rights have been revoked at Martins Crosswords,” and that “the gym and fire station can accommodate large crowds and parking . . . within the code of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance.
The Board agenda allowed public participation for those who signed up in advance for five minute time slots.
Henry Elam complained of the road safety location of the new precinct at the Double Branches Road EMS station. “Why would they build (a fire hall) in a curve on a blind spot?”
Board Chairman Glen Creech responded that “the Elections Board had nothing to do with where it was built, it was approved by GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation.”
Elam voiced other objections to the change, but instead of using his full reserved time announced he was yielding the balance of his time to long-time precinct change opponent Rev. Denise Freeman.
County Attorney Ben Jackson ruled there was no provision to yield time to another speaker, to which Freeman objected.
Lincoln County Magistrate Court Judge Leverta Elam questioned the logic of eliminating precincts.
“If our population is growing why are we cutting our precincts in half?” she asked. “How are we going to put four precincts in here?”
Chairman Creech said, “It’s an opportunity to make the polling places more convenient,” and that the larger buildings and parking areas would accommodate more voters.
Creech and Executive Director Lilvender Bolton both pointed out the consolidation was necessary due to changing conditions. Bolton said the County Commission determines the offices and buildings that can be used by the Elections Board, and the Commission removed the Board from the former Lincoln Center office space and precinct and offered the gym location instead.
Bolton added that the owner of the private parking lot that served the Martins Crossroad precinct withdrew parking permission, which would have led to voters parking on the shoulder of the highway, a safety hazaard.
“We had to go somewhere,” Bolton said.
Barry Freeman said the vocal opposition at the last consolidation attempt should have prevented reconsideration.
“The people of Lincoln County said they didn’t want this,” he said, adding that “your facility has to have the room for the voters or you have disenfranchised people.”
Mr. Freeman went on the say that he believed more than the Elections Board was involved in the plan.
“I don’t think they (the Elections Board) was in this from the beginning,” he said. “I just don’t want people to go vote on Election Day and not get to vote.”
He concluded by asking the Board for financial information on the plan. “How much will we save by consolidating into three precincts.”
Rev. Denise Freeman began with objections to the whole format of the meeting, asking, “How can y’all divide it down just four people and 20 minutes?”
Rev. Freeman complained that the Board had failed to adequately inform the public on the issue.
“We have not been educated on the voting process,” for the precinct changes, she said.
She also reiterated Henry Elam’s call for more precincts: “If ya’ll wanted to do what’s right you would be building more precincts, not less.”
The new Highway 220 EMS building’s location and funding was also criticized by Freeman.
“This site does not have 1000 feet of line of sight in both directions,” she said. “Did anybody know this is how they spent our COVID (federal American Rescue Plan) money?”
After hearing all four speakers, Chairman Creech called for a vote on the plan, which passed 3-0, with approval by Board members Jhandi Matthews, Brenda Leopary, and Chairman Creech. Board member Gregory Zellars was not present for the meeting.
This story is published in cooperation with the Lincolnton-McCormick Journal Messenger.
