‘Biggest election we’ve ever had’: Macon gets ahead of illegal signs, voter intimidation, misinformation
With campaign season in full swing and the start of early voting just weeks away, political signs have started popping up around the county. Bob Scott photo
Macon County officials held a press conference last week to address illegal political signs and get ahead of some misinformation that has been circulating about absentee voting in the county.
“As we approach the upcoming election, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with local election officials, wants to assure all residents of the integrity and security of the voting process,” said Sheriff Brent Holbrooks. “We remain committed to protecting the election process and ensuring that every eligible citizen can cast their vote freely without interference.”
With campaign season in full swing and the start of early voting just weeks away, political signs have started popping up around the county. However, as laid out in North Carolina General Statutes, political signs are not permitted in the public right-of-way areas until the 30th day before the beginning of early voting.
Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks wanted to assure people that the voting process would be secure. Bob Scott photo
With early voting set to start on Oct. 17, political signs were not permitted in public right-of-way until Sept. 17, which means all those signs near the roadways residents may have seen over the last week or so were out of compliance until Tuesday, Sept. 17.
“In accordance with the North Carolina General Statute 136-32(e), it is important for citizens to be reminded of regulations surrounding political signage during the election period,” Holbrooks said. “It is a class three misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed under this section.”
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That state ordinance also says that “no sign shall obscure or replace another sign.”
Gary St. Arnauld, chair of the Macon County Democratic party, alleges that this is exactly what’s taking place on Georgia Road.
The Democratic Women’s Club has paid for several large billboards throughout the county. Now, someone has erected a large sign with the names of Republican candidates directly in front of one of those billboards of Georgia Road.
“The phone calls I received said there are people out there erecting signs over your sign,” St. Arnauld said. “In other words, they were obscuring our sign.”
While the newly constructed sign is on private property, it was built so close to, and in directly in front of the preexisting billboard that it does somewhat obstruct the view of the billboard, especially for people driving by on Georgia Road. Republican Party Chair Jimmy Goodman was not present at the press conference to address the issue.
In addition to the early signs, and the possible sign obstruction, there have also been Republican party signs placed in the public right-of-way that are larger than the state statute allows for.
The statute says that signs in the right-of-way may not be higher than 42 inches above the edge of the pavement of the road, and may not be larger than 864 square inches, or two feet by three feet. The law limits signs to a certain size so that they do not obstruct drivers’ ability to see.
At the press conference on Thursday, Sept. 12, St. Arnauld showed pictures of signs in the right-of-way that were larger than what state statute allows.
“We are encouraging all campaign representatives and supporters to comply with these regulations, as failure to do so could result in enforcement action,” Holsbrook said.
In addition to the state ordinance governing political signage in the right-of-way, local municipalities may put in place stricter limits of their own. In Highlands, for example, political signs are allowed on private property, but not in any right-of-way or on town property.
Major Jonathan Phillips said that he is not aware of any complaints regarding political signage made to the Sheriff’s Office so far this election cycle.
“In the past, we’ve received complaints about this from both parties,” Phillips said. “About signs being vandalized or stolen, removed, things like that. So, it’s always something during the election cycle.”
Phillips recommended that St. Arnauld, and anyone concerned with illegal signs in the right-of-way contact the Department of Transportation.
Macon County Board of Elections Director Melanie Thibault and Macon County Democratic Party Chair Gary St. Arnauld attended the press conference, but GOP Chair Jimmy Goodman was absent. Bob Scott photo
“Generally, the DOT will handle the signs, because a lot of times I’ve seen where people contacted the DOT and they’ll be removed,” said Phillips. “So essentially, I would contact our local office here, the DOT, and inform them and they can investigate whether it’s in the right-of-way and then take the appropriate action.”
In addition to political signage, Board of Elections Director Melanie Thibault said she met with Sheriff Holbrooks and chair of the Republican and Democratic parties in recent weeks to discuss voter intimidation during the upcoming election.
“To be honest, you may see [voter intimidation] in the bigger counties, but I really don’t see it here in Macon County,” Thibault said.
According to Thibault, the county has only seen one incident of what could be considered voter intimidation in recent years. The incident took place during this year’s Republican primary and while Thibault takes the complaint seriously, she does not think that the person accused had any intention of intimidating voters.
“His problem is, he doesn’t know where to stay,” Thibault said in describing a person who had been wrongly approaching cars in polling place parking lots. “It was in Highlands, and I had a voter who contacted me by email and said that she felt threatened, she felt intimidated. She was approached by someone up there and she asked that I take care of it.”
Thibault, Arnauld, the Sheriff’s Office and Goodman are all aware of who the person is and what the regulations are for people campaigning around polling places.
“We always make our patrol deputies and supervisors aware during election time to keep an eye on those areas to be available to take it as a priority if we do get a call for assistance, to arrive and take the appropriate action,” Phillips said.
Thibault has taken precautions, but she is not too worried about voter intimidation outside polling places. Still, there are two other important pieces of information she wants voters to be aware of before voting time.
First is designated poll observers.
“Some of the rules on the observers have changed, and that kind of scares me because if I go to vote, I wouldn’t want someone standing over my shoulder watching me vote,” Thibault said of the poll observers. “They’re now allowed to walk amongst themselves inside those polling places. They’re not to stand over us and see information that they’re not supposed to see, but they have the right, now, to walk around and get copies of ARV forms, that’s law.”
According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, official election observers must be designated in advance by a county party chair. County party chairs may designate two observers for each polling place and 10 additional county-wide observers to enter polling places. The designations must be made to the chief judge at the precinct at least five days prior to the day they are designated to observe.
These poll observers are not allowed to interfere with voters casting ballots. They are not to engage with any electioneering in the voting place, communicate or observe any voter while the voter is casting a ballot.
The second important piece of information Thibault wants voters to know has to do with absentee ballots.
“There is some misinformation that’s being put out there, and I think it was meant for election day observers, but it’s being told everywhere, that if you go to vote early, or if you vote absentee by mail, if we write anything on your ballot, don’t take it, something’s wrong with it, that we’re doing something we’re not supposed to,” Thibault said. “That is absolutely false.”
Thibault explained that because absentee ballots are printed as the requests for them come in, they will have a designation on them that signifies whether the ballot is going to a civilian, military personnel or overseas. For example, if a civilian gets an absentee ballot, it will have CIV and the number that the computer assigned it when the absentee request form came in. At early voting, a voter will see EV, and the computer that they are at and the number it assigned.
If voters have absorbed the misinformation regarding writing on ballots and the fear of writing on a ballot persists, Thibault said to simply vote on Election Day.
“If voters don’t want to see anything on their ballot, I suggest they vote on Election Day,” Thibault said. “There will be nothing written on your ballot except your precinct, and it’s printed on it, it’s not written on it.”
Election officials expect this election season to be busy and hope to allay any confusion before voting begins. Thibault said she expects between 14,000 and 15,000 voters will come out for early voting alone between Franklin and Highlands. That is compared to a total of 20,827 votes cast in Macon County during the entire November election in 2020, the last presidential election.
“I think this is going to be the biggest election we’ve ever had,” said Thibault.
