CLEVELAND – A member of the Rowan County Board of Elections gave a talk about all of the information voters need to know before Election Day at the west branch of the Rowan Public Library in Cleveland on Friday. Kenneth Stutts, who is an attorney in addition to being a member of the Board of Elections, answered any questions the voters of western Rowan County may have during and after the talk.

Stutts said that the main questions he has fielded has regarded the ability of election officials to turn away voters based on issues that may arise from a presented voter ID.

“It’s never a single individual saying ‘No, this is not you. You can’t vote.’ It’s never going to be up to one single individual. It’s going to go through a gauntlet of people,” said Stutts.

That gauntlet means that the identification needs to pass through seven people before it is denied. First, the three election officials present at the poll get to add their input, and if even one of them says that ID is acceptable then the person is allowed to vote without any irregularity. If all three say that the ID is not acceptable, then the issue is brought before the Board of Elections, who have the same process where 100 percent must say no before the ID is denied. Even if all seven say no, the person is still allowed to vote with a provisional ballot and there are several options to proceed, such as returning to the polling location with a different ID.

“In the past, some people have been worried about asking the workers questions. I promise you, they want you to vote and so they’ll answer any questions you have and help any way they can. I know I keep saying this, but I want you to vote, we all want you to vote,” said Stutts.

Another question that was presented to Stutts is about absentee voting, where the voter is now required to send a photocopy of their ID along with the absentee ballot in order for it to be counted. As of now, records for every voter are kept by the Board of Elections for at least two years, and there are laws in the General Assembly that could make it five years. A member of the audience wondered if this was a safety concern to have everyone’s photocopied IDs in one location. Stutts said that the board had considered that concern, and that they place all of the IDs in a secure location in an attempt to prevent any problems.

Stutts also presented the audience with all of the acceptable forms of voter ID that they can use at the polling place. Other information he presented included the early voting schedule and a list of polling locations in Rowan County for the upcoming election.

Along with the presentation by Stutts, Gretchen Witt, a historical librarian, had a display detailing the history of women’s suffrage in America. The display, which was put together with help from the Smithsonian, was presented at all of Stutts’ talks at the library and will be present at any future ones he does in partnership with the public libraries.

The next presentation will be at the Rowan Public Library Headquarters in Salisbury on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m.

For more information, including the schedule and list of locations, visit the Rowan County Board of Education’s website at https://www.rowancountync.gov/191/Elections.