Ena Sellers

Local Board of Elections director answers commonly asked questions

As the Nov. 5 general election approaches, Duplin Journal will feature a series of Q&As with Duplin County Board of Elections Director Carrie Sullivan.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, you can still do so until Friday, Oct. 11. Eligible individuals who miss this deadline can register and vote during the early voting period from Oct. 17 through Nov. 2. Absentee ballots must be requested by 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. They must be received in the office by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 (close of polls).

With presidential elections less than 4 weeks away, what are the main challenges ahead?

The main challenge right now is keeping voters properly informed. There is quite a bit of misinformation out there right now. We are making sure that we are listening to voters’ concerns and addressing them. The biggest confusion so far has been third-party companies sending out mailers. If the address on the outside of the envelope does not say Duplin County Board of Elections, it is most likely coming from a third-party organization. We ask that if any voters have questions about their registration status, they reach out to us in the office.

How does the election office stop someone from illegally voting in the name of a voter who has died or moved but has not yet been removed from the rolls? How does your office keep voter rolls clean?

Voter ID is required in North Carolina; that is the most important safeguard to keep someone from voting under anyone’s name other than their own. Keeping voter rolls clean is a year-round task. Some tasks are performed daily, while others are performed weekly. Duplin County continues to perform all required list maintenance procedures which ensures that all deceased voters are removed in a timely manner.

With so many registration drives all over the county, can you explain how the process works? Are those registrations submitted to the local Board of Elections for vetting? What happens to voter registration forms that don’t provide a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number?

Registrations from registration drives are submitted either directly to our office or to the State Board of Elections. All registrations get scanned into our system and processed as they are received. If there is any significant change noted on a registration from a registration drive to an existing voter, we send out a letter to notify the voter before any changes are made to their record. If someone does not put a license number or the last four of their social security on the application, that registration will then be put into a queue in our system, and an incomplete letter is issued to the registrant notifying them that their registration is not complete until they provide that information to our office.

How do officials know that a legitimate voter has cast their ballot? Are there gaps in the chain of custody?

All methods of voting require a photo ID. When appearing to vote in person, a precinct official will check that ID to make sure that the picture resembles the person presenting to vote. In terms of Absentee by Mail, voters also must mail in a copy of their ID, sign their envelope, and have either two witnesses or one notary sign off and attest to that voter filling out that ballot and sealing it into the envelope. When absentee ballots arrive in our office, they are stamped with the date they are received, they are electronically checked into the system, and assigned to an Absentee Board Meeting date. They are then put away in a secure, locked area until they are to be reviewed by the multi-partisan Board of Elections. Absentee ballots remain sealed until the Board is ready to review them at their Absentee Meeting. We take chain of custody very seriously and ensure that we follow the laws set forth by the State of North Carolina and the Constitution.

For more information, call the Duplin County Board of Elections Office at 910-296-2170.

The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with Duplin County EMS, recently conducted rapid deployment training at the DCSO training center in Rose Hill.

The annual training, a crucial component in the readiness of both teams, is designed to prepare them for potential active shooter scenarios, bomb threats and other critical situations.

“We’re working in conjunction with each other, because we know that both our office staff and EMS are going to be on scene for critical incidents. So, we want to make sure that everybody is training on the same page,” said Ben Parrish, Duplin County Sheriff’s Office instructor, adding that their rapid deployment training falls under the rescue task force concept.

“So, instead of waiting to get victims out, we go ahead and send EMS personnel in with a security team to start evacuating wounded personnel,” said Parrish. “They’ve got what it’s called the golden hour to get treatment and we want to make sure that they get to that treatment as quickly as possible.”

The training incorporated the Kenansville Police Department as well, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to public safety. According to Parrish, the Kenansville Police Department recently took over the security of Kenansville Elementary School, and the collaboration ensures all the training is consistent across the board.

Parrish shared that the training includes two components, tactical and life-saving skills.

“We prepare our officers to confront the threat either individually or as a team as soon as possible,” said Parrish, adding that the sooner the threat is stopped, the sooner lives can be saved. “We try to stay on top of it, working with our local, state, and federal partners to mitigate the chance of something like that happening.”

The teams started the day at the training center. Parrish explained that in the morning, the EMS training coordinator taught all the deputies life-saving skills from first aid and CPR to how to use a defibrillator. “All the life-saving skills they would need as first responders,” he clarified adding that the training is hands-on, with participants learning how to bandage wounds and stop bleeding.

The afternoon session, which took place at the Baptist Mission Center, was exclusively focused on tactical training for neutralizing threats.

“They were kind enough to allow us to conduct our training there, because it is still an active site. It’s used daily and it looks lived in,” said Parrish, explaining that the realistic setting, unlike a bare warehouse, provides officers and EMTs with a school-like environment, enhancing the realism of their training.

With the rapid deployment training, EMS learns how to use what they call mega-movers to move injured personnel.

“It’s basically a big sack; they can lay the patient down on it, and it’s got handles on it so they can drag them down the hallway back to the point that they entered. And pass that patient off to somebody on the outside who can go ahead and immediately start taking them to get treatment. And they carry tourniquets, bandages, all that kind of good stuff,” he said.

Parrish explained that the training also prepares EMS personnel to work in tandem with a security element. This ensures their safety and allows them to focus on their life-saving duties, knowing that the threat is being managed.

Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office provides crisis management training for all school staff, including bus drivers, kitchen workers, and everyone else in the school system, to educate them on responding to active shooter situations.

“We teach them how to react and what to do to keep themselves safe,” said Parrish. “We teach them the same way the federal government recommends training be done for active assailants or active incident situations, in that they’re taught to run, hide, fight.”

Parrish explained that they teach participants to follow an action plan recommended by the Department of Homeland Security that emphasizes the “run, hide, fight” approach. He explained that if they can run and escape safely, they should do so. If they need to hide because the assailant is nearby, they should do their best to conceal themselves. As a last resort, they should be prepared to fight to protect themselves, said Parrish.

He also explained that this training is essential because in some countries, edged weapons are the weapon of choice, and it’s crucial for everyone to know how to react in such dangerous situations.

Residents of Duplin County know a thing or two about the damage and heartache a tropical storm can cause. After all, in 2018, areas of the county experienced major flooding damage from Hurricane Florence, an event that some are still working to recover from. So it’s no surprise that Duplin citizens would band together to help the victims of Hurricane Helene. The storm has caused devastating flooding in western North Carolina and has so far attributed to the deaths of more than 100 people.

These are the relief efforts in Duplin County that we were aware of as of press time. Please stay tuned to local churches, nonprofit organizations and law enforcement for more ways you may be able to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Ashley Duff of Plan B Trucking, Inc. and Plan B Logistics, along with local churches and organizations, have set up a centralized drop-off location for donations at the old Kramer’s Building in Wallace, located at 1504 N. Norwood St. The drop-off was scheduled for Thursday, 4-9 p.m., with more dates and times to be announced.

“Unfortunately, the Duplin County area knows all too well the devastation that these storms can bring,” Duff told Duplin Journal. “Each time, we have been blessed with an outpouring of love and support from our neighbors and fellow North Carolinians, including those out west.”

“Thank you to all who have and will continue to work to support our efforts, through time, resources, and equipment,” Duff added.

The effort is a collaboration between Duff and Calvary Church, North East PFWB Church, Pastor Ross Cavanaugh and Poston Baptist Church.

ASC Hauling & Services is also accepting donations of supplies to go to western NC. “We’ve prayed about this and it’s been heavy on our hearts,” the company wrote on its Facebook page. “The goal is to load our truck and dump trailer full of needed supplies and deliver them next weekend.”

Those who would like to donate supplies are asked to call or text 910-271-3430.

Law enforcement agencies and first responders are also working to help those affected by the storm in western NC.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol Troop B, District 4, which includes Duplin and Pender counties, is also collecting supplies. Those wishing to donate items, such as bottled water, snacks, canned food, drinks and toiletries may bring them by the Kenansville office, located at 133 Routledge Road in Kenansville.

The Wallace Police Department has deployed four officers to the western region to help with recovery efforts, and a team from the Wallace Fire Department headed west on Tuesday morning.

“Ken Floyd, who used to be the Wallace Chamber president, runs a hotel in Black Mountain,” Wallace Police Chief Jimmy Crayton told Duplin Journal. “He has turned it into a shelter. So we loaded up what supplies we could in the patrol trucks and sent it with the officers on their way to Asheville.”

A team from the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office is ready to go, as well.

“All of our deputies are willing to respond but due to scheduling not all can deploy to the western part of our great state,” a DCSO Facebook post reads. “A team is formed and ready to go. This demonstrates our deputies’ strong commitment to serve and protect, near and far. They will be on assignment for at least one week.”

If you would like to donate in any way or provide supplies to be carried to the Hurricane Helene victims, please drop any donations off at the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office at 112 West Hill St., Kenansville.

In addition, the Kenansville Fire Department is collecting used turnout gear to send to firefighters in western NC for departments that have lost their gear and equipment due to Hurricane Helene.

“Kenansville Fire Department will be the drop site for the gear and we will ensure it gets to them,” Fire Chief Robert Whitman said.

He can be contacted at 910-290-2397.

Lesser Ministries and Emerge Ministries are also collecting donations for Hurricane Helene victims. Items such as bottled water, soap, toothbrushes, paper products, bleach and household cleaners, non-perishable food items, solar-powered phone chargers, feminine products, diapers and wipes, trash bags, and pet food can be donated at Kenansville Baptist and Sandy Plain Church in Beulaville. In addition, you can donate monetarily on the Emerge Ministries website, www.emerge4unity.org/give.

Charity Mission Center, which was established after Hurricane Florence, is meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 and asks that anyone willing to lead a team to help with the recovery efforts attend. Charity Mission Center is located at 1333 W. Charity Road, Rose Hill.

The center was not taking donations as of press time, due to a lack of storage space.

“We know that we serve a big God that can take care and orchestrate all that needs to happen,” the center wrote on its Facebook page.

Children in one Wallace neighborhood also held a lemonade fundraiser over the weekend, raising $3,500. The money raised is being used to purchase multiple generators, in addition to the supplies and water already purchased.