Voters head to polls for Election Day
Swannanoa Valley precincts open from 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 3, 2020
Polling locations throughout the Swannanoa Valley will remain open until 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. Photo by Fred McCormick
Precincts throughout the Swannanoa Valley opened their doors this morning as voters cast ballots for national, state, county and municipal races on Election Day.
Five polling locations in Black Mountain and three in Swannanoa will remain open until 7:30 p.m.
Voters within the Town of Black Mountain, where residents will decide three seats on the board of aldermen, can cast ballots in designated precincts. A map of assigned voting precincts is available through the Buncombe County Election Services website.
Six candidates are vying for aldermen seats in the town’s first general election since 2017. Incumbents Jennifer Willet and Archie Pertiller, Jr. are joined by challengers Matt Turner, Pam King, Doug Hay and Tonia Holderman in the race. For more information on the candidates, view The Valley Echo’s Aug. 7 Q&A featuring responses from each of them.
Residents in the Swannanoa Valley will also help decide a pair of seats on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Anthony Penland and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara are campaigning to represent District 2 on the county’s governing board while Robert Pressley and incumbent Brownie Newman are seeking the county commission chair.
Two incumbent town council members in Montreat — Jane Alexander and Kitty Fouche — are running unopposed as they seek to retain their seats. Montreat Mayor Tim Helms is also running unopposed in his effort to retain his office.
Swannanoa Valley voters will also cast votes for the Buncombe County Schools Board of Education. Three candidates, incumbent Peggy Buchanan, Everett Pittillo and Linda Tatsapaugh are vying to for the Owen District seat on the board while Amanda Simpkins and Mark Watman are campaigning for an at-large seat on the county’s school board.
The early voting period in Buncombe County was open from Oct. 15 - 31, when a record number of residents took advantage of the option, election services director Corrine Duncan said in a Nov. 2 press conference.
“Combining the unprecedented volume of absentee by mail, and our largest number of early voters ever, over 140,000 people have already cast their ballots in Buncombe (County),” she said. “That’s more than the total turnout in 2016 and we still have Election Day ahead of us.”
For more voting information, visit buncombecounty.org/vote.