Macon County voter turnout reaches 76.4 percent
Election Day came and went with several key races locally, statewide and nationwide decided at the polls.
However, the most high-profile race on the 2020 ticket was still up in the air as of Wednesday.
President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden were locked in one of the closest contests in modern American history as of press time. The Associated Press had not called the election for either candidate.
Locally, the biggest storyline may not have been any single race, but rather the sheer number of people who turned out at the polls. In Macon County, a total of 20,748 ballots were cast, which accounts for 76.4 percent voter turnout.
“We had a big turnout in one-stop early voting and also a record number of ballots cast absentee by mail,” Macon County Board of Elections Deputy Director Gary Tallent said. “The turnout was strong in 2016, at about 68 percent, but this election was even beyond that. A lot of people have been engaged this election cycle.”
Of the 20,748 ballots submitted in Macon County as of Tuesday, 16,450 were cast either during one-stop early voting or absentee by mail. There may be additional absentee by mail ballots left to be counted due to the fact that absentee ballots can be received up to nine days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked on or before Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Several statewide races, including the governor’s post, were decided on Election Day. Incumbent Dem. Roy Cooper fended off a challenge from Rep. Dan Forest. Cooper carried 51.4 percent of the vote to Forest’s 47.1 percent.
In the race for North Carolina Senate District 50, Rep. Kevin Corbin earned 66.6 percent of the vote to defeat Dem. Virginia Fox, who carried 33.3 percent. Senate District 50 covers Macon, Jackson, Haywood, Swain, Graham, Clay and Cherokee counties.
North Carolina House of Representatives District 120 was also a lopsided victory for a Macon County Republican, as Rep. Karl Gillespie received 74.1 percent of the vote to Dem. Susan Landis’ 25.8 percent. District 120 covers Macon, Clay, Cherokee and Graham counties.
“I can’t say thank you enough to all of the voters in the District 120 that supported me and all the volunteers that helped out during this election,” Gillespie said. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity and to make my way to Raleigh and get to work for the people of our district.”
In Macon County, Hillary Wilkes won the opportunity to serve as Highlands’ representative on the board of education. Wilkes was unopposed, as was Misty Evans, who earned another term as the Nantahala representative to the board. Jim Breedlove retained his board of education seat with 47.2 percent of the vote compared to Matt Mason’s 32.2 percent and Emily Ritter’s 20.1 percent.
The Macon County board of commissioners will have one new face following Tuesday’s results. Rep. Josh Young earned 73.3 percent of the vote to defeat Dem. Betty Cloer Wallace in the District II race. Young will take the seat vacated by Gillespie. Paul Higdon was unopposed and retained his county commission seat.