MOUNT GILEAD — Board of Elections Director Penny Porter said both early voting and absentee voting are triple what they have ever been in the general election since she has been at the BOE, and she has worked there since 1995.
A total of 5,003 absentee ballots were requested and sent out to Morrow County voters this fall; 3,603 ballots had been returned as of Tuesday, Oct. 27. Deputy Director April Brown said that the ballot box on the brick maintenance building is checked faithfully four times a day by the staff and votes continue to come in every day.
As of Oct. 27, early in-person voters total 3,871 at the BOE office in the Social Services building at 619 W. Marion Road in Mount Gilead.
There are small lines that move along quickly and efficiently with wait times from five minutes to 15 or 25 minutes, depending on the time of day. There are six booths for voters to use after they check in with their photo ID, sign the roster and pick up a stylus to use at the voting machine.
Dan Osborne, Chairman of the Republican Central Committee, visited the BOE office Tuesday and was pleased to see the voting proceeding smoothly. He thinks that in the future, more space is needed for the BOE office for staff and voters.
