Political observers anticipate that Fayetteville's upcoming municipal election will attract a record number of voters. This expectation is significant, especially when considering that the last municipal primary only saw about eight percent voter turnout, with early voting estimated at just three percent.
Voter turnout for municipal elections is consistently much lower than for presidential and midterm congressional elections. One reason may be that municipal elections in North Carolina are usually nonpartisan and occur in odd-numbered years.
A partisan crowd packed the Cumberland County Board of Elections meeting on Aug. 5, ready to protest the potential exclusion of the early voting site at Cliffdale Recreation Center.
They reportedly received an early morning alarm from the Fayetteville branch of the NAACP, Democracy North Carolina, and Common Cause North Carolina, urging them to attend the meeting. Cliffdale is a popular voting site in Fayetteville, located on the west side of the Hollywood Heights subdivision, which is predominantly African American, just off Cliffdale Road.
The level of concern depends on who is speaking. Was there an actual need for worry? Board Chairman Linda Devore stated during an appearance on a WIDU radio talk show the following Friday that Cliffdale was never at risk of losing its status as a voting site, even if the board decided to extend the voting beyond the central election office.
Many African American voters believe that Republicans are suppressing their votes, especially since there have been recent changes in how the composition of local election boards is constructed. Cumberland County has a five-member majority Republican board.
Each term, both the Democratic and Republican parties submit recommendations to the state board of elections for two representatives from each party on the local board. The most recent change is that the State Auditor now appoints the chairman.
These changes are likely fueling the distrust in the system, which some leftist groups are exploiting to motivate voter participation through fear.
Has anyone's vote been suppressed in Cumberland County lately? That shouldn't be the case, but an early morning communication announcing an urgent call to arms can effectively rally the troops.
Fayetteville's issue with voting is not due to suppression, but rather a lack of engagement and interest among voters. Fayetteville has more than 130,000 registered voters, but in the last election, the primary voter turnout was in the single digits, and only about 12 percent of voters participated in the general election.
Approximately 13,000 voters decided for a city with a population of over 200,000 citizens. Around 57,000 voters are African American, while 42,000 are white. With Black voters having an advantage, it's perplexing to hear fears that white conservatives might take over. The numbers don't add up.
Cumberland County will submit two plans to the State Board of Elections because the local board of elections did not reach a unanimous vote. Both plans include two voting locations for early voting in the primary, and both designate Cliffdale as an early voting site. Voter suppression? No, it's just people who aren't interested in voting.