Changes to the state's election laws could increase the number of early voting sites in Forsyth County for the March 2016 primary. The list could include some public schools.
The new legislation reduces early voting from 17 days to 10, but it mandates that each polling place must be open the same number of hours as they were in 2010 and 2012.
That means the county will have to provide more early voting sites in 2016 or extend hours at existing polling locations. Lamar Joyner, interim director of the Forsyth County Elections Board, says the board is considering requesting the use of some public schools fill in the gaps.
“In each election we have about 30 plus schools that are used for election day polling locations but we have not ever used a school for an early voting site," says Joyner. "It's something that the board has mentioned, as well as looking at additional hours at polling sites."
The tentative list now has 22 sites, including four schools: Whitaker Elementary, Mount Tabor High, Sherwood Elementary and Jefferson Middle.
Joyner says board members will discuss the early voting options during it's meeting on Tuesday.
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