news-record.com

GREENSBORO — The board that helps choose how and when Guilford County residents vote will have an opening after Chairman Jim Turner steps down this month.

Current member TJ Warren will likely take the chairmanship. Dot Kearns, a former county commissioner and school board member, is poised to take Warren’s spot, according to Tom Coley, chairman of the county Democratic Party.

Coley said that Warren wanted to stay on the board and that

Kearns’ political experience and hometown of High Point influenced her selection.

“We haven’t had someone from High Point in years,” Coley said.

The three-member Guilford County Board of Elections reflects the two main parties in the county. About half of Guilford’s registered voters are Democrats, and about a third are Republican.

Attorney Kathryn Lindley is the lone Republican on the board.

Kearns must be approved by the State Board of Elections before she can take the spot, but that approval is often granted without much debate.

Members on the state board were appointed Monday for four-year terms. Members on local elections boards serve two years.

“It’s important that we have as many informed voters having access to the polls,” Kearns said Tuesday. “And that’s not limited to Democratic voters, that’s not limited to strong parties.”

Kearns would be sworn in July 21, pending approval from the state board.

Duties of the board include selecting Election Day precincts, choosing balloting machinery and determining eligibility of voters.

“We will definitely have early voting,” Guilford County Elections Director George Gilbert said about tasks ahead for the board this year. “We’re going to have to make some changes to some polling places.”

Their decisions can weigh in heavily on outcomes of some elections.

For example, in the 2008 election, some Republicans said that additional early voting days helped Democratic victories.

“They have purposely chosen early voting locations in mainly very Democratic strongholds,” said Steve Arnold, the Board of Commissioners vice chairman and a Republican.

Turner said then that locations were chosen based on location to population centers in the county.

Coley said that Democrats in this county are more centered on High Point and Greensboro. Republican strongholds appear in rural areas.

A News & Record analysis of precincts near early voting locations showed they roughly reflect countywide party registration.

Democrats generally favor having more options and opportunities to vote while Republicans often prefer to open polls on Election Day, which is Nov. 3 this year.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com