CHINA GROVE — In an effort to increase voter turnout, China Grove is taking steps to amend its election frequency to even-numbered years to mirror national elections.

“We have done some research on (this),” Town Manager Franklin Gover said at the regularly scheduled China Grove Town Council meeting on Tuesday. “Going back to 2015, there have been 50 or so towns that have made that move.

“My recommendation is if it’s something (the council) is interested in, and ultimately we pass a resolution supporting that move, then we provide it to our local representatives.”

According to Gover’s research, the results of realignment are mixed.

“Looking at it, data seems to vary,” Gover said. “You definitely see a strong uptick in presidential years. Some towns have seen an increase, and some haven’t, so it’s kind of an experiment.”

Gover explained that it would move the 2025 election to 2026, meaning that if it were to go through, it would extend the terms of council members Cheryl Sheets, Don Bringle and Arthur Heggins by one year.

“I like the idea,” Bringle began, “not that it’s extending my year, but the fact that during a presidential election, we sitting up here and those who have voted know, the voice of the town has been 300 to 350 votes and sometimes, less than that, in a town that has more than 5,000 people. In a presidential year, there are more people coming out who are going to vote for the elections … it could definitely get the voice of the people of China Grove more so than (odd-numbered years).

“That is my reason for supporting it. I think it’s good. It may be the difference in somebody winning or losing by a thousand votes instead of five or six votes.”

There would also reportedly be a cost savings. One town official suggested it could save as much as $4,000-$5,000.

“I love the cost savings,” council member Cheryl Sheets said.

Rowan County Elections Director confirmed that there would be a cost savings, although she did not specify how much it would save.

“I would have to do a deeper dive to determine what this would look like for our county,” Main said in an email on Wednesday. “In other counties that hold municipal elections in even-numbered years, the towns do not pay the full cost to staff the precinct since workers are already there for a general election.”

Main also confirmed the process by which the change would take place.

“The process of changing their election cycle starts with adopting a resolution at a town council public meeting that allows the town to work with local legislators to introduce a local act to the General Assembly,” Main said. “If passed in a timely manner, China Grove could skip the 2025 Municipal Election and move to the 2026 General Election.”

Main similarly confirmed that doing so would require extending terms of councilors for an additional year.

“Afterwards, they would return to the regular term once the election cycle is moved to the even year,” she said.

The board granted consensus to Gover to move forward with drafting a resolution.