2020 Health Care Heroes B Section
October 16 - November 5, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 20
wilmingtonbiz.com
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WEB EXCLUSIVE Housing outlook:
The latest on home sales activity wilmingtonbiz.com
Ballot research
New Hanover County commissioner candidates Q&A Page 10
MADE: Wood wielders
341 Repurposed finds focus Page 14
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Index Economic Indicators .............................. 3 Technology ............................................. 4 The List .............................................. 5, 6 Hospitality ..........................................8-9 Real Estate...........................................13 In Profile...............................................14 Business of Life.............................. 18-19
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Voting trends: New Hanover County Board of Elections workers, shown above at the county’s government complex, have fielded more absentee ballots this year.
AN ELECTION
LIKE NO OTHER V
BY CECE NUNN
oters handed ballots in this month at two tables outside the New Hanover County Board of Elections office at the county government complex.
Like everything about 2020, this year’s elections are a little more complicated than they used to be, and there’s a lot at stake in the outcome. Absentee ballots are a major topic of discussion this year, as more voters opt to avoid the voting crowds on Nov. 3, Election Day, because of the
coronavirus pandemic. That means changes for local boards of election and election offices. “I think every county board had to adjust their operations accordingly to ensure that they had the capacity to manage the absentee by mail voting process and the expected increase in volume,” said Rae Hunter-Havens, elections director for New Hanover County. To accommodate space needs, “the county allowed us to use the vacated suite next door for an absentee ballot processing center,” Hunter-Havens said of the election board offices at the county government
complex off South College Road. “That space was recently vacated by the veterans affairs office.” As of Oct. 9, more than 440,000 people had cast absentee ballots in North Carolina, more than 13,000 of those in New Hanover County, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections absentee vote count. Hunter-Havens said the initial mailing for New Hanover totaled more than 18,000 absentee ballots in September. But the ballots aren’t the only remarkable aspect of this year’s election. North Carolina is a battleground state, meaning the presidential vote is up for grabs. See ELECTION, page 15
