Where to Vote in Macon County

Today is Election Day, and citizens who are registered to vote will have an opportunity to indicate who they prefer in various offices from the local Soil and Water Supervisor all the way up to President of the United States. Here is a list of polling locations in Macon County. Polls will be open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm tonight. Everyone who is in line at a polling location will be allowed to vote.

Polling Place Buffer Zones for Macon County Polling Places:

The following is a list of Macon County polling places and a description of each buffer zone in which Election Day electioneering. Buffer zones are designated in accordance with G.S. 163-166.4(a), by the County Board of Elections. Where practical set limit of the zone is 50 feet from the door of entrance to the voting place.

The poll workers will mark buffer zones on Election Day with "No Campaigning Past This Point" at the following polling locations:

1. North Franklin - Franklin Town Hall - 95 Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734
2. South Franklin - Macon County Public Library - 149 Siler Farm Rd. Franklin, NC 28734
3. East Franklin - Macon County Environmental Resource Center - 1624 Lakeside Drive, Franklin, NC 28734
4. Iotla - Macon County Airport - 1241 Airport Road, Franklin, NC 28734
5. Union - Macon County Community Building - 1288 Georgia Road, Franklin, NC 28734
6. Millshoal - Holly Springs Community Building - 2720 Cat Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734
7. Ellijay - Cullasaja Gorge Fire & Rescue - 104 River Road, Franklin, NC 28734
8. Sugarfork - Pine Grove School - 38 Peeks Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734
9. Highlands - Highlands Civic Center - 600 North 4th St, Highlands, NC 28741
10. Flats - Scaly Mountain Fire Department - 169 Hale Ridge Rd, Scaly Mountain, NC 28775
11. Smithbridge - Otto Community Building - 60 Firehouse Rd, Otto, NC 28763
12. Cartoogechaye - West Macon Fire and Rescue - 564 Charles Nolen Road, Franklin NC 28734
13. Nantahala - Nantahala EMS Building - 1096 Junaluska Road, Topton NC 28781
14. Burningtown - Burningtown Community Building - 250 Burningtown Baptist Church Road, Franklin, NC 28714
15. Cowee - Cowee School - 51 Cowee School Drive, Franklin, NC 28734

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League of Women Voters Host Forum for NC Senate and NC House

The Macon County League of Women Voters hosted a forum today for candidates who are running for seats in the North Carolina Senate and North Carolina House of Representatives. 

Over the course of the forum, each candidate was asked to speak on five topics. They were:

1. Introduction of candidate and qualifications for office
2. Infrastructure improvements for WNC, including high speed Internet
3. Education
4. Gun Control
5. An opportunity to revisit past questions or to discuss areas not covered

A video of the entire forum is posted below.





THE CANDIDATES 
(click on the name of each candidate to see an article about them on Ballotpedia)


NC SENATE #50

Jane Hipps, challenger
Jim Davis, the incumbent did not show. He sent a letter to the league expressing his regrets. His letter stating his reasons for not participating in the forum begin at the 2 minute and 30 second mark in the video.


NC HOUSE #120 (the incumbent, Roger West, is retiring, so there is no incumbent in this race)

Kevin Corbin, challenger
Randy Hogsed, challenger



UPCOMING FORUMS 
(if you have  forum you wish Macon Media to cover, please send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com)


The next League of Women Voters Candidate Forum in Macon County will be held on October 20th at noon. It will feature the candidates for County Commissioner.

The League is also participating in a Candidate Forum that is being organized by The Canary Coalition and Occupy WNC on October 13th at The Joyce Dugan Cultural Arts Center Cherokee Middle School in Cherokee, NC. This forum begins at 7 pm and is expected to last until 9 pm or so.



CROWD FUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online.


You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at >> https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia

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Second Primary Election Day Is Today Polls Open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm Preliminary Results Added

**10:10 pm** Scroll down for the preliminary results. Macon Media and The Franklin Press were the only local new outlets present at the Board of Elections and Macon Media was the only one transmitting the results in near real time on the internet, posting results on Facebook before the state website.

Today is the second primary day in the 2016 election cycle. All regular polling locations are open and posted below for your convenience.

Only 328 of the 24,756 registered voters in Macon County availed themselves of the opportunity to vote early in this primary. Statewide projections are that only 5% of voters will participate in this second primary.

Voters will need to have Photo ID in order to vote. Learn about the acceptable forms of identification at the North Carolina Voter ID website.

There are two ballots for this election, one for Democrats and one for Libertarians, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters.

On the Democratic ballot, there is a little-reported or acknowledged primary race between Tom Hill and Rick Bryson for Congress. The winner will face Congressman Mark Meadows this fall. Democrats are the only ones voting in this Congressional primary in the 11th district since there are no challengers to the Republican incumbent.

On both the Democratic and Nonpartisan ballots, four candidates are running for Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Here they are presented in the order in which the candidates appear on the ballots: Michael R. (Mike) Morgan, Daniel Robertson, Robert H. (Bob) Edmunds and Sabra Jean Faires.





The poll workers will mark buffer zones on Election Day with "No Campaigning Past This Point" at the following polling locations:

North Franklin - Franklin Town Hall - 95 Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734

South Franklin - Macon County Public Library - 149 Siler Farm Rd. Franklin, NC 28734

East Franklin - Macon County Environmental Resource Center - 1624 Lakeside Drive, Franklin, NC 28734

Iotla - Macon County Airport - 1241 Airport Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Union - Robert C Carpenter Community Building - 1288 Georgia Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Millshoal - Holly Springs Community Building - 2720 Cat Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Ellijay - Cullasaja Gorge Fire & Rescue - 104 River Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Sugarfork - Pine Grove School - 38 Peeks Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Highlands - Highlands Civic Center - 600 North 4th St, Highlands, NC 28741

Flats - Scaly Mountain Fire Department - 169 Hale Ridge Rd, Scaly Mountain, NC 28775

Smithbridge - Otto Community Building - 60 Firehouse Rd, Otto, NC 28763

Cartoogechaye - West Macon Fire and Rescue - 564 Charles Nolen Road, Franklin NC 28734

Nantahala - Nantahala EMS Building - 1096 Junaluska Road, Topton NC 28781

Burningtown - Burningtown Community Building - 250 Burningtown Baptist Church Road, Franklin, NC 28714

Cowee - Cowee School - 51 Cowee School Drive, Franklin, NC 28734

UPDATES WILL BE POSTED BELOW THIS POINT 

IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

******************************

**10:10 pm**

Preliminary totals for Macon County

1,708 voted out of 24,755 voters for a 6.9% turnout.

Congressional Race

Ricky Bryson 551 -- 72.69% (Won in district wide race)

Tom Hill -- 207 -- 27.31%

NC Supreme Court 

(Top Two face each other in the General Election this fall)

Edmunds -- 946 -- 58.79% (Finished first in statewide race)

Morgan -- 457 -- 28.40% (Finished second in statewide race)

Faires -- 204 -- 12.68%

Robertson --83 -- 5.16%

Jackson County passed a quarter cent sales and use tax by a margin of 63.54% for and 36.46% against.

Results by precinct, district and state:

US HOUSE DISTRICT 11 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

MACON COUNTY BY PRECINCT

Precinct          Bryson  Hill

01 North Franklin 29       25      

02 South Franklin 20       23      

03 East Franklin  35       21   

04 Iotla          12       13   

05 Union          43       26     

06 Millshoal      16       14           

07 Ellijay        30       23             

08 Sugarfork      11       12    

09 Highlands      68       54      

10 Flats           9        8   

11 Smithbridge    36       33   

12 Cartoogechaye  32       24   

13 Nantahala       7       12    

14 Burningtown    14       19    

15 Cowee          45       27   

ABSENTEE          11       10     

EARLY VOTING     133      113   

PROVISIONAL        0        0    

TRANSFER           0        0              

NC SUPREME COURT

MACON COUNTY BY PRECINCT

Precinct          Edmunds  Morgan  Faires   Robertson

01 North Franklin 56       25      9        2

02 South Franklin 22       23      6        0

03 East Franklin  54       21     17        4

04 Iotla          32       13     10        1

05 Union          55       26     10        6

06 Millshoal      61       14      9        5

07 Ellijay        65       23      8        5

08 Sugarfork      16       12      2        3

09 Highlands      87       54     33       15

10 Flats          29        8     10        3

11 Smithbridge   100       33     10        2

12 Cartoogechaye  56       24     16        5

13 Nantahala      14       12      1        1

14 Burningtown    46       19      3        2

15 Cowee          78       27     12        7

ABSENTEE          22       10     10        5

EARLY VOTING     153      113     38       17

PROVISIONAL        0        0      0        0

TRANSFER           0        0      0        0

US HOUSE

DISTRICT PRELIMINARY TOTAL

Bryson   9636    50.75% (winner)

Hill          9351    49.25%

NC SUPREME COURT PRELIMINARY STATEWIDE RESULTS

Edmunds   234,142    48.06%

Morgan     167,221     34.32%

Faires          58,588     12.03%

Robertson  27,220       5.59%

**6:17 pm** 45  votes cast in the South Franklin precinct.


**6:09 pm** 91 votes cast in the Union precinct.

**5:54 pm** 75 votes cast in the Millshoal precinct.

**5:41 pm** 81 votes cast in the East Franklin precinct.

**5:30 pm** 80 votes cast in the North Franklin precinct.

**12:10 pm** 28 votes cast in the South Franklin precinct.

**11:53 am** 38 votes cast in the Union precinct.

**11:44 am ** 17 votes cast in the South Franklin precinct. 

**11:25 am ** 29 votes cast in the Millshoal precinct.

**10:55 am** 24 votes cast in the East Franklin precinct.

**10:25 am 19 votes cast in the North Franklin precinct.

*6:49 am** 

Here is video of the polls opening in the North Franklin precinct this morning.

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Early Voting in Congressional Primary Begins Today Ends Saturday, June 4th at Noon

Early voting in the 2016 Congressional Primary begins today at 8 am and will end at noon on June 4th. Primary election day will be June 7th, and polls will be open from 6:60 am to 7:30 pm.

Voters will need to have Photo ID in order to vote. Learn about the acceptable forms of identification at the North Carolina Voter ID website.

There are two ballots for this election, one for Democrats and one for Libertarians, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters.

On the Democratic ballot, there is a little-reported or acknowledged primary race between Tom Hill and Rick Bryson for Congress. The winner will face Congressman Mark Meadows this fall.

On both the Democratic and Nonpartisan ballots, four candidates are running for Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Here they are presented in the order in which the candidates appear on the ballots: Michael R. (Mike) Morgan, Daniel Robertson, Robert H. (Bob) Edmunds and Sabra Jean Faires.

Here is an election calendar for this primary, courtesy of the Macon County Board of Elections.

2016 ELECTION CALENDAR
CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY JUNE 7, 2016 SCHEDULE 

---

*One-stop Voting Begins	Thursday, May 26, 2016 Hours 8-5
One-stop Voting Ends	Saturday, June 4, 2016 Hours 9-1
Last Day to Request an Absentee Ballot by Mail	Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 5:00 pm
*Last Day to Return an Absentee Ballot by Mail In-Person	Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Congressional Primary Day	Tuesday, June7, 2016 (6:30 am - 7:30 pm)
County Canvass	Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 11:00 am

---

*One-Stop Voting is held at the Macon County Courthouse only for this election; hours are May 26-27 (8-5), May 31-June 3 (8-5) & Saturday, June 4 (9-1) All Macon County Polling locations will be open for this election from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.  * If mailed, your ballot will be timely only if the envelope is postmarked on or before June 7, 2016 and received by June 10, 2016.  If you are mailing your ballot on or near the deadline, you should ensure that your container-return envelope is postmarked by a postal official.

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Polls Open for the 2016 Primary Day

The polls in Macon County opened at 6:30 am this morning. Important voting information and photos taken at the North Franklin Precinct when they opened for voting this morning are posted below.

2016 PRIMARY DAY INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS OF MACON COUNTY FOR MARCH 15, 2016

All voting places in Macon County are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 pm today. Upon entering the voting place, give your name, address, and party affiliation to the precinct officials. If you are properly registered, you will be given the appropriate ballot and directed to the voting machine to vote.

Note: If a person has changed addresses and not yet notified the election office, they may still vote on election day. The voter would need to go to the new precinct where the poll worker will fill out the forms and verify with the county board of elections office. However, this will obviously take time and it is much simpler to change your address prior to election day.

Curbside Voting

If you are unable to enter the voting place because of age or physical disability, you will be allowed to vote either in your vehicle or near the voting place during the hours that the polling place is open.

Transfer Voting

If you fail to change your address by the registration deadline, there is a procedure that allows you to vote. You may also appear at the Board of Elections office between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Election Day if you failed to change your address. Your information will be corrected and you will vote while in this office. To avoid any delay, please notify the elections office of any address change within 25 days of an election.

Polling Places and Buffer Zones for Macon County Polling Places:

The following is a list of Macon County polling places and a description of each buffer zone in which Election Day electioneering. Buffer zones are designated in accordance with G.S. 163-166.4(a), by the County Board of Elections. Where practical set limit of the zone is 50 feet from the door of entrance to the voting place.

The poll workers will mark buffer zones on Election Day with "No Campaigning Past This Point" at the following polling locations:

North Franklin - Franklin Town Hall - 95 Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734

South Franklin - Macon County Public Library - 149 Siler Farm Rd. Franklin, NC 28734

East Franklin - Macon County Environmental Resource Center - 1624 Lakeside Drive, Franklin, NC 28734

Iotla - Macon County Airport - 1241 Airport Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Union - Macon County Community Building - 1288 Georgia Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Millshoal - Holly Springs Community Building - 2720 Cat Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Ellijay - Cullasaja Gorge Fire & Rescue - 104 River Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Sugarfork - Pine Grove School - 38 Peeks Creek Road, Franklin, NC 28734

Highlands - Highlands Civic Center - 600 North 4th St, Highlands, NC 28741

Flats - Scaly Mountain Fire Department - 169 Hale Ridge Rd, Scaly Mountain, NC 28775

Smithbridge - Otto Community Building - 60 Firehouse Rd, Otto, NC 28763

Cartoogechaye - West Macon Fire and Rescue - 564 Charles Nolen Road, Franklin NC 28734

Nantahala - Nantahala EMS Building - 1096 Junaluska Road, Topton NC 28781

Burningtown - Burningtown Community Building - 250 Burningtown Baptist Church Road, Franklin, NC 28714

Cowee - Cowee School - 51 Cowee School Drive, Franklin, NC 28734



**note** The County Canvass will take place on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 11:00 am.

ONE STOP VOTING STATS

According the the Macon County Board of Elections, here are some voting stats from One Stop from March 6th until the close of early voting at 1 pm on Saturday: (any transcription errors are mine)

Voted in Franklin • 3,185
Voted in Highlands • 418
Total One Stop • 3,603

Ballot Requested

Democratic
Franklin • 1,122
Highlands • 141

Republican
Franklin • 2,057
Highlands • 276

DAY SPONSOR

MaconMedia.com's News and Weather coverage is being underwritten today by NC Against the Bond. A bond is not free money, it’s a debt left to future generations to pay without their consent. If an item is truly important, put it in the budget. Find out more about this campaign at http://againstthebond.com/uncategorized/vote-against-the-2-billion-debt-bond-on-tuesday/

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Macon County Republican Party Holds Candidate Forum

On Saturday, February 6, 206, the Macon County Republican Party hosted a forum for candidates. Headlining the forum was Buck Newton, a Republican candidate for North Carolina Attorney General. Other candidates included NC Senator Jim Davis (running for re-election to the 50th District NC Senate seat), Commissioner Kevin Corbin and Elliott Southworth (both running for the NC House 120th District seat of the retiring Roger West), Karl Gillespie and Ron Haven (both seeking the County Commissioner District II seat that is being vacated by Kevin Corbin), and Commissioner Paul Higdon, Greg Boyer and Manny Carrion (all seeking the County Commissioner District III seat currently held by Paul Higdon). All candidates will face Democratic opposition in the General election this fall.

Due to technical problems and illness, this material was delayed in being published. I apologize for that delay.


MEDIA ROLL CALL
(media outlets with representatives present at the event)
Macon Media (me)
The Franklin Press (a photographer, but no reporter was present)
Macon County News and Shopping Guide

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Paul Higdon files for County Commissioner

Paul Higdon has filed for County Commissioner in District III. He currently is serving as County Commissioner in District III.

Filing started at noon on December 1st and will continue until noon on December 21st.

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Karl Gillespie files for County Commissioner

Karl Gillespie has filed for County Commissioner in District II. He currently is not serving in elected office. He has been appointed to serve on the Macon County Planning Board.

Filing started at noon on December 1st and will continue until noon on December 21st. 

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Bobby Kuppers files for County Commissioner

Bobby Kupper has filed for County Commissioner in District III. He currently is not serving in public office.

Filing started at noon today and will continue until noon on December 21st.

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