February 12, 2009 Issue
Avery Voters Defeat Land Transfer Tax
Preliminary results of the referendum for a proposed land transfer tax in Avery County indicated that the measure had passed by 25 votes. However, the results were reversed at canvass on Tuesday, February 17, and the referendum failed.
The certified election results with a 25 percent voter turnout are 1,449 against and 1,414 for, a difference of 35 votes.
If the February 3 special election for the referendum had passed, a 0.4 percent tax would have been assessed on the sales of real property in the county.
Avery County Board of Elections Director Sheila Ollis said a number of factors contributed to the reversal of the results.
The weather on Tuesday, February 3, was a key factor. By 6:30 p.m., Ollis said, poll workers were calling the Board of Elections to find out if they had to stay open because many were concerned they would not be able to get home in the heavy snow. All the polls stayed open until 7:30 p.m., Ollis said, but in consultation with a State Board of Elections staff member from Raleigh, Ollis gave the pollworkers permission to call in the results, rather than bringing the voting machines to Newland that night. Some discrepancies were later discovered between the vote totals called in that night and the actual counts from the machines. Ollis said cell phone reception that Tuesday night contributed to the problem; some pollworkers had to go outside in the snow to even get enough of a signal to call, she said.
“Things were adding up,” Ollis said, “and when you have humans involved, there can be mistakes.”
In addition, there were 23 provisional ballots, of which 21 qualified to be counted at canvass—another effect on the results.
“We have the best, finest, most outstanding workers ever,” Ollis said, “and we trust every one of them.”
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