Heads Up, Watauga: Your Board of Elections Has a Surprise for You

Late this afternoon, Four Luke Eggers got himself sworn in as the 2nd Republican member of the Watauga County Board of Elections and promptly began acting as the chair of that board, though no election of officers has taken place. Four Luke Eggers presented a new agenda for a special meeting of the board this coming Monday morning at 9 a.m., an agenda that would seem to indicate – on the face of it -- that the Republican-dominated board intends to mess with the Boone elections this November. (The next regular meeting of the board was already scheduled for August 20.)

We obtained the agenda from the sole Democratic member of the board who heard about Monday's meeting only after the close of business today.

Among the new items on this agenda are at least two of potential interest for the municipal elections coming up, particularly Early Voting, and one regarding the polling place for Watauga County’s largest precinct:

* Adopt new one-stop [which includes Early Voting] implementation plan. 

* Resolution to recombine Boone precincts [?]. 

* Relocate Meat Camp and New River 3 precincts [NR 3, our largest precinct, votes currently at the Nat’l Guard Armory].

Another agenda item may be aimed at punishing the elections director, Jane Ann Hodges: “Assign elections duty.” The local GOP has been itching (pretty much in full view of the public) to run Ms. Hodges out of her job for a long time now. Ms. Hodges happens to be one of the most respected elections directors in the state and is protected by the state's personnel act.

But I guess we’ll have to wait until Monday morning to see exactly what Four Luke has in mind with that particular agenda item ... once he’s actually voted in as chair of the board, naturally.