By Tim Gardner
One-stop absentee voting for municipal elections in Avery County will be held in the Board of Elections office located in the Avery County Court House Annex, located at 200 Montezuma Street, Suite 307 in Newland, beginning on Thursday, October 14 and running through Saturday, October 30.
One-stop voting hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30. Canvass day will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the Avery County Board of Elections office on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Absentee ballots are allowed. Requests for an absentee ballot must be made in writing and received in the Avery County Board of Elections office by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, October 26.
The municipal elections will be held on November 2 for all eight Avery County townships–Newland, Banner Elk, Elk Park, Crossnore, Village of Sugar Mountain, Beech Mountain, Grandfather Village and Seven Devils. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. The two-week filing period for November 2, 2021 municipal elections in North Carolina began at 12:00 noon on July 2 and closed on July 16 at 12:00 noon.
Mayor seats will be on the ballot in some of those townships and Town Council (Aldermen) seats will be voted on in all of them. A total of 31 candidates filed in Avery County’s municipal elections.
The Election Day polling places will be located at:
Crossnore — Meeting House, 1 Fountain Circle, Crossnore, NC 28616
Banner Elk, Beech Mountain and Seven Devils — Town Hall, 200 Park Ave., Banner Elk, NC 28604
Village of Sugar Mountain — Town Hall, 251 Dick Trundy Lane, Sugar Mountain, NC
Elk Park — Avery County Rescue Squad, 205 Ice Plant Street Elk Park, NC 28622
Grandfather Village — Linville Fire Hall, 590 NC Highway 105, Newland, NC 28657
Newland — Avery Morrison Library, 151 Library Place, Newland, NC 28657
The complete list of all Avery County Municipal Elections candidates for each township as per the Avery County Board of Elections includes:
Town of Banner Elk Town Council (Two Seats Open)-
Michael P. Dunn
Robert Edgar Tufts
Town of Beech Mountain Town Council (Three Seats Open)-
J. Weidner Abernathy
Erin Gonyea
Barry Kaufman
Town of Crossnore Mayor (One Seat Open)
Eddie Yarber
Town of Crossnore Alderman (Three Seats Open) –
Cami Vance Buchanan
Jane Milanovich
Terry Smith
Town of Elk Park Mayor (One Seat Open)-
Daniel Boone
Town of Elk Park Town Council (Five Seats Open)-
Tony Eller
Darlene Hicks
Michael Smith
Alice Whittington
Brad Benfield
Joel Whitley
Village of Grandfather Village Mayor (One Seat Open)-
Richard Norman
Village of Grandfather Village Council (Two Seats Open)-
William Cagney
Jill Norman
Town of Newland Mayor (One Seat Open)-
Valerie Calloway Jaynes
Derek Roberts
Town of Newland Town Council (Alderman) (Three Seats Open)-
Lauren Jaynes Turbyfill
Gail Haller
Jamey C. Johnson
Town of Seven Devils Town Council (Three Seats Open)-
Leigh Sasse
Jeffrey Williams
Wayne Bonomo
Village of Sugar Mountain Council (Two Seats Open)-
David Ammann
Scott Brown
Dick Casey
Wade Wittman
All residents of the towns of Newland, Banner Elk, Elk Park, Crossnore, Village of Sugar Mountain, Beech Mountain, Grandfather Village and Seven Devils, who are registered to vote with the Avery County Board of Elections, may vote in this election.
Voters who are previously registered need not re-register for this election. Those residents of the towns previously listed, who are not registered to vote in their municipality, must have registered on or before Monday, October 8 by 4:30 p.m. in order to be eligible to vote in this election. Alternatively voters may register and, if eligible, then vote at the one-stop site.
For additional information, call the Avery County Board of Elections Office at: (828) 733-8282 or (828) 733-7012.