NC community split on decision after learning there's no early voting site in Spring Lake
SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A recent decision by the North Carolina State Board of Elections to reject an early voting polling site in Spring Lake has divided residents and raised concerns about voting access in this small Sandhills community.
The board's decision last Thursday means that, for the upcoming November 3 election, Spring Lake will not have an early voting site.
Instead, all seven early voting sites in Cumberland County will be located in Fayetteville and Hope Mills, leaving some Spring Lake residents worried about how they'll get to the polls.
In a town with no public transportation, neighbors are finding creative ways to vote.
Some are carpooling, while others say the extra distance has discouraged them from voting early at all.
"I do early voting. I've done it for 20, 30 years," said Richard Weaver, a longtime Spring Lake resident who lives just minutes from the now-rejected early polling site on Ruth Street.
Weaver, who has lived in Spring Lake for more than 50 years, said, "Early voting, you can do what you want to do when you want to do it. But if it's a set date and you have something that comes up, you can't do it. This gives you a chance."
Weaver disagrees with the board's decision but says early voting remains important.
"You should vote regardless of how far it is," he said.
Other residents, like retiree Billy Cummings, are adapting in their own ways. "I usually go a couple days ahead," Cummings said.
He plans to wait until Election Day to cast his ballot. "I ain't got nothing against it. I'll go. Like I said, I'll go regular and do walk in and do it."
How did they come to this decision?
On Thursday, the State Board of Elections finalized early voting plans for 20 counties that failed to reach a unanimous agreement.
During the public hearing, Linda Devore, the Republican chair of the county elections board, and Democratic board member Irene Grimes debated the merits of a Spring Lake site.
"A compromise should not come at the expense of the voters who face the greatest barriers to accessing the vote," Grimes said.
Devore countered, "The concern we have with singling out Spring Lake, it accommodates only 2.5% of our early voters, is that we have a larger population in the northeastern quadrant of our county that has no early voting site and those people manage to get to an early voting site."
According to the Census, more than 11,000 people live in Spring Lake, but only about 5,700 are registered voters.
County Republican board members argued that the low turnout didn't justify spending $35,000 on an early voting site.
Spring Lake Mayor Kia Anthony criticized the decision on Facebook, writing, "I'm frustrated and disappointed. Our residents deserved better than what they got."
The early voting sites in Cumberland County for the November 3 election are:
- J.D. Pone Recreation Center, 2964 School Road, Hope Mills
- Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville
- Kiwanis Recreation Center, 352 Devers St., Fayetteville
- Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville
- East Regional Library, 4809 Clinton Road, Fayetteville
- Stoney Point Recreation Center, 7411 Rockfish Road, Fayetteville
- College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road, Fayetteville
Weaver said the closest site is about 30 minutes away.
He's given rides to his elderly neighbors before and says he may have to do the same now that it's even further away.
In-person early voting in Cumberland County begins October 15.
