LAURINBURG — The Scotland County Board of Elections on Tuesday appointed the judges for county’s 10 election precincts.
The three-member board selected three judges for each precinct including a chief judge. The appointments are for two years.
The majority of the judges selected has served as an election official before.
“We can select anyone, but I think its good to have experienced people,” said elections chairman Hal Culberson.
The judges will be trained prior each election. Training will take place at the Emergency Operation Center, according to Dell Parker, director of the Board of Elections.
The judges are:
Precinct 1 – Chief Judge Mamie Massey (D); and judges Lynne Mabry (R) and Johnnie Mae Underwood Mason (D)
Precinct 2 Chief Judge Richard Pate (R); and judges Ida McGill (D) and Dorothy Welch (R)
Precinct 3 Chief Judge Nona Hubbard (D); and judges Ed Pilarczyk (R) and John Schmidt (D)
Precinct 4 – Chief Judge Otis James (D); and judges Brenda Gilbert (R) and Larry McGill (D)
Precinct 5 – Chief Judge Gilbert Jones (R); and judges Paul Coble, Jr. (R) and Margarette Barber (U)
Precinct 6 – Chief Judge Ann Coble (R); and judges Renee Snipes (D) and John C. Siersema (R)
Precinct 7 – Chief Judge Cheryl Denoble (R); and judges Margaret Bullard (R) and Evelyn Thomas (D)
Precinct 8 – Chief Judge John Ferguson (D); and judges Tom Marshall (R) and Faye Poole-Lowery (U)
Precinct 9 – Chief Judge Sandy Williams (R); and judges Daniel Dockery (D) and Phillip Edwards (R)
Precinct 10 – Chief Judge Wallace Johnson (R); and judges Sylvia Scott (R) and Betty “Sissy” Caviness (D)
In other business, the board voted unanimously to close the polling places in Precinct 5 and Precint 8.
Officials said both locations have low voter turnout and the move would save money. Of the 139 registered voters in Precinct 5, 30 people voted in the 2015 municipal elections, officials said. In Precinct 8, of the 16 eligible voters, only six cast ballots in 2015.
Voters in the two precincts will receive a letter telling them that they can still vote absentee by mail or vote early at the Scotland County Annex Building. If they wait until Election Day, they can vote at the Precinct 1 polling place.
The closures must be approved by the State Board of Elections.
In other business, the board announced that early, one-stop voting for the Nov. 7 municipal election will begin Oct 19 and run until Nov. 4.
It will be held at the conference room of the Scotland County Annex Building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on last day.
Also on Monday, the board unanimously approved to move the Precinct 4 polling place from the National Guard Armory to the Laurinburg South Fire Station. The change was made after it was discovered that there was lead contamination at he Armory. The decision needs final state approval.
“With the armory I don’t think we really have a choice,”said Parker. “I don’t think we will have an issue with getting it approved.” (By state board.)
There are about 2,992 registered voters in Precinct 4.
