Accomack County begins process of moving polling place from Metompkin Elementary to MNS Cultural Center

The  Accomack County Electoral Board is requesting the Board’s approval to move the Rue District #502 polling place from Metompkin Elementary School to the Mary Nottingham Smith Cultural Enrichment Center (MNSCEC).  Electoral Board Chair Elizabeth Bell appeared before the Supervisors to request the change.

In a February 3, 2025, email, the Registrar outlined several concerns prompting the request. These include insufficient space in the current voting room, which affects voter privacy and complicates the setup for election officials and equipment. Additionally, the room’s temperature control is inconsistent, and the building’s entry points and internal layout cause confusion for voters. School staff frequently pass through the voting area, disrupting the process. Despite repeated reminders, the school has not been adequately prepared to serve as a polling place. Poor cell phone service further complicates communication with election officials.

The County Administrator contacted the Interim Superintendent, who agreed to address most of the issues, except for the mobile service problem. The Electoral Board will present further details on the challenges with the current location during their request.

Supervisor Jeff Parks questioned the timing of the request saying that changing polling places is always difficult and the time it will take to complete the legal steps that will lead to the change will bring the resolution of the issue periously close to the upcoming election in November.

In the Supervisor’s comments portion of the meeting Parks also questioned the use of personal cell phones to conduct business with the Registrar’s office on election day.  Parks said that should there be a serious issue personal cell phones could be confiscated.  Parks asked County Administrator Mike Mason to look into providing a county owned cell phone at each of the polling places on election day.

The Board voted 8 to 1 to proceed with a public hearing on the matter with Parks being the dissenting vote.