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Watauga County Board of Elections Sept. 13 Meeting Canceled

Editor’s Note: There will be no meeting on Tuesday. Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matt Snyder said on Tuesday afternoon after consulting with State Board of Elections general counsel, the chairman of the board does have authority to cancel a meeting and any new meeting called must be agreed upon by two members and given proper public notification. 

By Jesse Wood

This morning, Watauga County Board of Elections Chair Bill Aceto announced that the board’s Sept. 13 regularly-scheduled meeting at 5 p.m. was “cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.”

This announcement was issued by elections staff via email, which is the board’s normal avenue for meeting announcements.

However, a few hours later, Stella Anderson, the lone democrat on the three-member board, sent the following email to media, local elections staff and others:

“As Chairman Aceto does not have the authority to unilaterally cancel our regularly scheduled meeting, this hereby serves as notice that I will be present for our Board meeting tomorrow (5 p.m., Commissioners’ Board Room), that Director Snyder and Donna Houck (for minutes) will be present.  I hope Secretary Owen will also be in attendance.”

On Tuesday morning, Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matt Snyder said he didn’t yet know if a meeting would be held or not later in the day.

“I am waiting to hear what the State [Board of Elections] general counsel says,” Snyder said.