By Mike Barnhardt

Enterprise Record

Everyone can tell there is a major election this year.

The politics are everywhere.

And while they go hand-in-hand, elections and politics are separate.

Gary LeBlanc, chair of the Davie County Board of Elections, is disheartened that a recent study shows that 29 percent of likely voters lack total trust in the election system.

He is talking to groups anywhere he can about the elections process, how votes are made and counted, who qualifies to vote, when votes are counted, etc. In other words, he wants everyone to understand the election process is fair in Davie County and in North Carolina.

“You have to separate politics from elections,” he said. “Because of social media, which is where many people get their information, they are getting an array of information. People are just not aware of how elections work.”

And even when true, that information sometimes leaves out key elements to support one political ideology or the other. There’s no place for that in elections, LeBlanc said.

The board of elections is made up of Democrats and Republicans, and when it comes time for them to do anything, including counting votes, representatives from both of the major parties are present. Observers can be allowed, but cannot be privy to private information of individual voters.

After every election, the state asks each county to hand count two precincts (Not known in advance.). In Davie County, the final count remained was the same. Twice. The difference statewide was small, LeBlanc said. In 2020, a candidate with a 401-vote lead remained the winner, with the same vote totals after two recounts.

A study of more than 19 million votes from 2015-2022 found 674 instances of potential fraud. “It had no impact to any election.”

Dead people don’t vote, LeBlanc said. Records are updated weekly, using death records from two sources. And if someone is to be taken off of the register because they haven’t voted in past two federal elections, they are sent two notices to their registered address. Officials will work with voters, within the law, to make sure they are properly registered.

“And when a person votes, their name is registered as having voted, so they can’t vote a second time.”

Voting machines are secure and regularly tested. Voters can view on paper the ballots they cast on a touch screen before having it scanned. Voting results are only sent via private lines, and are posted by the N.C. Board of Elections.

All election officials are sworn by oath to uphold election laws, and can be arrested if they don’t.

“Sometimes, it’s hard for people to understand an opposing view,” LeBlanc said. “We’re in a democracy, and a democracy starts at the ballot box, where we choose the people we want to represent us. It is the voters who determine who we elect to adopt policies.

“Democracy was not set forth by one political view. It was an amalgamation. Democracy is still the one thing that unites us.”

LeBlanc uses the analogy that humans have two ears and one mouth for a reason. They need to listen more.

“I was raised to listen to both sides and to try to understand … ask questions as to why they feel the way they do. But old habits are hard to break. People hold onto their beliefs, even in the face of conflicting information.”

He said that at his first presentation on the elections process, the audience appeared shellshocked.

“They were blown away. They had no idea of how complex this (elections) is, how many steps we have to go through to do this. This is a sacred trust for voters to know that their vote is counted. I can’t stress enough how important voting is. All votes matter in the final count.

“There is so much required of elections boards, directors and staff that we have to get it right. I welcome the public to come and view what we do. There’s nothing secret about it.”