The Board of Elections held some 16 board meetings during this election cycle. Here the board met on November 9 to review mail in ballots to see if they qualify.
The Board of Election's members are Michael Behrent - Chair, Marv Williamsen - Secretary, Eric Eller - Member, Nancy Owen - Member and Matt Walpole - Member
W
ith so many additional challenges for the 2020 Presidential Election, such as the major increase in the number of absentee ballots and the proper safety procedures required for COVID-19, the Watauga County Board of Elections met two and sometimes three nights a week in September and October. Traditionally there are 3 absentee by mail meetings, but this year there were 10
Board of Election Meetings board meetings because of the volume of those ballots. After the election, there have been another 6 meetings. Most of those meetings lasted at least two to three hours, and one such meeting lasted from 5 p.m. until midnight as board members approved absentee ballots and took on discussions about
the many memos sent out by the state board of elections. The meetings are attended by the members of the Watauga Board of Elections, Matt Snyder and members of his staff depending on the type of meeting, and the county attorney. "I appreciate their seriousness with which they take their resposibilities and their focus of doing things the right way," said Snyder. "The voters should appreciate that."
"All through the year, we are always doing registrations, either removing people that have moved or registering people that have moved in. I can't remember a downtime, but very rarely do we ever have a time when we have to look for something to do," Houck said. Donna and the rest of the staff were especially busy this year with a major increase in absentee ballots and the nu-
merous COVID-19 protocols required by the state board of elections. “No one has ever had to figure out how to run an election in the midst of a global pandemic. So many things had to adapt and change; from training, to election sites, to safety equipment. Many people had to be willing to come forward and risk their health and their family's health to enable voting," Houck said. "Even
with these unprecedented challenges, the board, election staff, and every single person who worked at a polling site did it. Many of our poll workers were new and had to learn a lot very quickly. When we work side by side, there is nothing we can't overcome together." Election specialist John Hill has worked at the board of elections for three years, and the majority of work involved
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High Country Magazine
December 2020