Transcript Staff
Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the Presidential Preferential Primary and annual school elections.
Paula G. Roberts, secretary of the Cleveland County Election Board, offered voters some tips on how to make their votes count.
Roberts said that a valid marking -- a filled-in arrow -- is shown on posters at the polling place and inside the voting booths. If voters make mistakes marking their ballots, Roberts said they should not try to correct those errors. Instead, voters should return the spoiled ballot to the precinct officials, who will destroy it and issue a new ballot to the voter.
Roberts also urged voters to take their voter identification cards to the polls with them to the polls.
"Your voter identification card can help precinct officials find your name in the precinct registry and it may also help them to resolve the problem if you are not listed in the precinct registry," she said.
Voters whose names are not found in the precinct registry, or a voter who disagrees with the information shown in the registry, may need to cast a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is sealed in a special envelope and counted after election day if the voter's information can be verified by the County Election Board.
Roberts said voters who want to get through the lines quickly should vote at mid-morning or mid-afternoon, because those usually are the two slowest periods for voting during the day.
"Anyone who is eligible and in line at the polling place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday will be entitled to vote," she said.
