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Cherokee County election office readies for November voting, seeks poll workers and weighs sample-ballot mailing
Summary
At the October meeting, the Cherokee County Election Board heard the director report on logic and accuracy testing, early-voting dates, absentee ballots (about 160 returned so far), poll-worker recruiting and training, risk‑limiting and ballot-image audits, and a staff proposal to mail sample ballots to registered voters for major elections.
Anne, the Cherokee County election director, told the board during its October meeting that staff began logic-and-accuracy testing the day of the meeting and reminded residents that the voter-registration deadline was that day.
The director said the office is starting in-person poll-manager training this week with sessions at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and one evening session at 6 p.m. for Wednesday. “We are going to start recruiting and trying to work on getting some new ones,” she said, describing concerns that some experienced poll workers are retiring and that recruitment will be a challenge going into 2026.
The director gave a schedule of election deadlines and activities: the last day to accept absentee-ballot applications is October 24; early voting begins the office’s first business day after a state holiday and runs through October 31; the office will be closed November 11 for Veterans Day; and the risk‑limiting audit and the ballot‑image audit are scheduled “between the twelfth and the fourteenth,” she said.
Staff reported absentee-by-mail returns had risen from about 120 in the written report to “we’re close to 160 since I did this little report.” The director said sample ballots are available at the office and that the county’s sample ballots may not yet appear on the My Voter Page maintained by the state.
On the proposal to mail a combined sample‑ballot flyer to registered voters, the director said the estimated printing cost is “about 22¢ plus postage” per recipient and that staff were divided on the idea: some view it as a voter-education tool; others worry it could create confusion and generate many voter calls. She said a consolidated sample image could be included as a smaller image on a trifold mailer and that staff would include a link or instruction to check an individual voter’s ballot on the My Voter Page.
The director described the county’s logic-and-accuracy process: technicians program voter‑access cards for each ballot‑marking device (BMD), cast several test ballots at each precinct, scan the test ballots, remove memory cards and compare results tapes to the test ballots, stamp test ballots and keep them with other election paperwork.
Staff also outlined outreach plans: visits to senior centers and nursing homes, two “lunch-and-learn” sessions planned for January and February to train facility activity coordinators on assisting voters, and a poll‑worker appreciation event planned for the December board meeting.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the meeting agenda and several sets of minutes (regular meeting Sept. 8, meeting to review special‑election returns, and minutes for certifying a special election). Each motion carried by voice vote; the board recorded the approvals as unanimous in the meeting record.
The director asked the board whether it wanted staff to proceed with voter‑education and poll‑worker recruitment efforts; board members expressed support and asked for continued updates.
Ending: Staff said they will continue voter education and poll‑worker outreach ahead of the larger 2026 election year, and they warned that pending legislative changes could require additional preparation.
