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Nearly 17,000 Registered Voters in Boone, Small Percentage Voting in Election So Far

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Council Candidate David Welsh pitches his candidacy in front of the Watauga County Administration Building on Tuesday.

By Jesse Wood

Boone has nearly 17,000 registered voters (those active and in-active for last two general elections). During early voting, 544 Boone citizens voted for the municipal elections. During the first hour of early voting, only a handful made it to the polls between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m.

“It’s been pretty quiet,” Watauga County Elections Director Matthew Snyder said earlier this morning.

I stopped by the four Boone precincts – at the Ag Center, Council Chambers, Admin Building and Legends – at about 7:30 a.m. and didn’t see one voter. I did see candidates David Welsh (Boone Town Council) and Rennie Brantz (mayoral candidate for Boone) campaigning in the dreary weather.

The general consensus was that two or three voters had voted within Election Day’s first hour. One Boone precinct officer described the lack of voters showing up to the polls as “pretty sad.”

But there are several hours left to vote!

The polls are open from 7:30 p.m.

Both counties also feature a number of uncontested races. In Watauga County, each municipality – Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain and Seven Devils – features an uncontested race. Meanwhile in Avery County, Newland, Elk Park and Beech Mountain feature contested races.

For more information about where to vote in Watauga, click to the Watauga County Board of Elections website or call 828-265-8061. See sample ballots here.

For more information about where to vote in Avery, contact the Avery County Board of Elections at 828-733-8282 or click here. See sample ballots here.

Click here for info leading up to Election Day in Watauga and Avery counties.

 

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Current Mayor Pro-Tem and mayoral candidate Rennie Brantz stands outside the precinct at the Council Chambers in an effort to reach voters on Election Day.
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Boone 3 precinct is located at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center in downtown Boone. Only 2 or 3 people had voted at this precinct within an hour of it opening on Tuesday morning.
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One of the Boone precincts is located on the campus of ASU at Legends.
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The Boone 2 precinct was empty on Tuesday morning at about 7:30 a.m. After an hour of the polls being open, only 2 or 3 registered voters filled out a ballot.