Orange County Releases Video Series to Educate About Early Voting

Voting in Orange County for the 2020 general elections has already begun with absentee and mail-in voting. The next step is for early voting to begin, and the county has put out a resource to help residents learn more.

Early voting for North Carolina begins October 15 and will end on October 31. To help community members learn more, the Orange County Board of Elections recently published a video series.

Director of the board Rachel Raper speaks in the video, which also has a Spanish and Chinese translation, and talks viewers through how the county will work to protect in-person voters amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Orange County will follow [Centers for Disease Control] recommendations to ensure a safe process,” she says, “including enhanced cleaning of each location, single-use pens for voters to mark ballots and single-use cotton swabs for voters using touchscreen machines.”

Staff at the polling sites will wear masks, face shields and gloves as they assist voters to protect their own health.

“Masks will be available for any voter who needs one,” adds Raper, “and voters will be asked to observe social distancing while standing in line.”

The Board of Elections director also explains where Orange County residents can go vote during this early period. The county will have the same six early voting sites as it had during primaries in February and March. Voters can cast their ballots at University Place, Chapel of the Cross or the Seymour Senior Center in Chapel Hill. Additionally, the Carrboro Town Hall, the Efland Ruritan Club and Orange Works at Hillsborough Commons are also early voting sites.

Raper says in the video all early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, as well as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

“We’re doing all we can to ensure you can vote safely in Orange County,” she says.

For those still planning on voting after early voting is finished, Election Day is on Tuesday, November 3. More information about early voting can be found on the Orange County Board of Elections web page.

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