Thanks to the members of Free Union Free Will Baptist Church, it’s a safe bet the Hunter’s Bridge precinct in Beaufort County will not be dissolved for lack of a polling place.
The church, through spokesman Tommy Webster, offered its facilities as a polling place to replace the one lost to an apparent arson last spring. If an inspection of those facilities determines they meet required standards and comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Beaufort County Board of Elections, at its 2 p.m. meeting Tuesday, likely will adopt a resolution that would start the process to move the polling place to the church’s fellowship hall for the May 8 primary and an adjacent building (a former Scout hut now used for storage) for subsequent elections.
Keeping the Hunter’s Bridge precinct intact makes it easier for voters there to exercise their right to vote.
The church, with its offer, is helping people exercise that right with a minimum of inconvenience. Making it easier for folks to vote legally is always the right thing to do.
Although some people may have concerns about having a polling place at a church, Board of Elections Chairman Tom Payne noted, a polling place is not a Democratic thing or a Republican thing, it’s an American thing.
That’s the right attitude.