Same-day voter registration ends Saturday
Published 8:59 pm Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Those not registered to vote still have the opportunity to get registered and vote during One Stop voting this week, according to Beaufort County Board of Elections Director Kellie Hopkins.
“Anyone who missed the deadline can come in and register and vote the same day during One Stop,” Hopkins said. “If you missed it, you’ve got until Saturday to do same-day registration.”
Hopkins said same-day registration only applies to the One Stop voting going on this week and does not apply to Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Any resident hoping to register this week, however, does need to bring an ID with name and current address or a government document with name and current address to the Board of Elections
“They have to have something that ties them to the address they are registering to,” Hopkins said.
This year’s elections are limited to those holding office in local municipalities, which tends to limit the number of people voting. This year’s One Stop voting has counted only 156 votes from more than 9,000 voters.
“Turnout is low. We’ve had as many as 13,000 in two weeks during presidential elections. This is a crawl to us,” Hopkins said. “Voters just seem to more apathetic during municipal elections and, really and truly, they impact you the most — or at least as much as anything else does. These are the people who decide your electric rates, tax rates, ordinances as to what color you can paint your house. It’s personal.”
The Board of Elections office is open for One Stop voting through Saturday. The Board of Elections office is located at 1308 Highland Drive, Washington. Remaining One Stop voting hours are Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.