From Staff Reports

A record 5,700 residents cast their ballots in Buncombe County on Oct. 17 during the first day of in-person early voting in North Carolina, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on Oct. 17.

“There’s a lot of people out there — it’s really amazing,” Corinne Duncan, the director of elections for Buncombe County, told News 13.

Duncan also told the TV station that she believes that community members are eager to make their voices heard in the aftermath of Helene.

Further, she pointed out to News 13, “This perhaps motivated people to come out and, I think, that there’s a lot of feelings of community and coming together after a crisis like this and voting is another example of people coming together, and they are definitely showing that today, heading out to the polls.”

Those who missed the deadline to register to vote may register at an early-voting site during the early voting period. 

“You can also ‘same-day register’ during early voting and so if you missed the registration deadline that was on the 11th, you can bring a photo ID and your proof of residency to early voting,” Duncan  told News 13.

In Buncombe County, early voting runs daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including weekends) from now until 3 p.m.Nov. 2.

Below is a list of the 10 locations to vote in Buncombe County:

• Black Mountain Library - 105 N. Dougherty St, Black Mountain, NC 28711

• East Asheville Library - 3 Avon Rd, Asheville, NC 28805

• Enka-Candler Library - 1404 Sand Hill Rd, Candler, NC 28715

• Fairview Library -1 Taylor Rd, Fairview, NC 28730

• Leicester Community Center - 2979 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester, NC 28748

• South Buncombe Library -260 Overlook Rd, Asheville, NC 28803

• UNCA Health and Counseling Center - 118 WT Weaver Blvd, Asheville, NC 28804

• Weaverville Community Center -60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville, NC 28787

• Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center -285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801

• West Asheville Library - 942 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC, 28806.

Locally, the Nov 5 General Election will feature races for open seats on Asheville City Council, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, the Asheville Board of Education, and the Buncombe Board of Education.

For Asheville’s council, six candidates are vying for three open seats, including incumbents Sage Turner and Kim Roney Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore, who holds the third open seat, has announced she will not be running again. The other four candidates — all men – vying for seats on the currently all-women council are Kevan Frazier, Bo Hess, Tod Leaven and C.J. Domingo.

In the Buncombe commissioners’ race, four seats are up for re-election, including the commission chair, and a seat in each of the county’s three districts. 

Incumbent Commissioner Amanda Edwards is running for the county chair, now held by longtime chair Brownie Newman, who is retiring at the end of his term. Edwards,  a Democrat, is facing a challenge for the seat from former Buncombe Sheriff Van Duncan, who is running as an unaffiliated candidate, having clinched the signatures needed to get on the ballot.

Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara recently announced she will not run for re-election, so voters in Buncombe’s first district, covering the southeastern portion of the county, will choose between two newcomers — Democrat Jennifer Horton and Republican challenger Paul Benjamin.

Meanwhile, incumbent Commissioner Terri Wells, a Democrat, is running for the second district seat, which covers much of the northern and western sections of the county. Also vying for the seat is Bruce O’Connell, who is running unaffiliated.

Lastly, incument Commissioner Parker Sloan, a Democrat, is running for a seat in the third district of the county to represent Buncombe’s core — and he is not facing any challengers.

In the race to be elected to the Asheville City Board of Education, three seats are being sought by four candidates, two of whom currently are on the board.

Running for the seats are George Sieburg, the board’s current chair; Jesse Warren, who was appointed to the board by Asheville City Council in January 2023 after a board member stepped down; William Young and Pepi Acebo.

Incumbent city school board member James Carter is not running for re-election.

In the race for seats on the Buncombe County Board of Education, voters will elect one at-large board member and three members who live in districts, but who are elected by all voters in the board’s service area. The district lines are new.

For the at-large seat on the Buncombe school board, the candidates are Charles Martin, incumbent Glenda P. Weinert and Arria Williams.

The candidates for the three district seats on the Buncombe school board are as follows:

•  District 1 — Ann B. Franklin, who is the board’s current chair; and Greg Parks.

•  District 2 —Nancy Shook Hargrove, Sara Disher Ratliff and Greg Cheathan,  

•  District 4 — Jim Fulton and incumbent Amy Churchill.

At the top of the ballot will be the race for the U.S. presidency between Vice President Kamala Harris (who is the Democratic nominee) versus former President Donald Trump (who is the Republican nominee).

Among the many other races locally and statewide, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat; is squaring off with Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a Republican; in the race to replace outgoing Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

Also, several referenda are on the ballot, including a constitutional amendment — and City of Asheville bonds for housing, transportation, parks and recreation, and public safety.