If you’re planning to vote early at the Old Guilford County Courthouse in downtown Greensboro on Saturday, Oct. 31, you might want to reconsider.
Not because there’s anything wrong with the voting site or because election officials aren’t prepared. It’s because downtown Greensboro could be something approaching a madhouse.
Saturday is Halloween, the final day of early voting, and the biggest day of North Carolina A&T State University’s 100th homecoming celebration. More than 200,000 people are expected to descend on Greensboro during the celebration, and many of them will be downtown.
If you’ve ever been downtown when Halloween and A&T’s homecoming crowds are in full swing, you know that finding a parking space can be impossible and getting anywhere on Elm Street can be an adventure.
This year, with the university celebrating a century of what it calls the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, those problems could be considerably worse.
The good news for voters is that Guilford County has 17 early voting locations –and there’s no requirement to vote at the one closest to your home.
The Old County Court House at 301 W. Market St. is one of those locations, but voters who don’t want to contend with the downtown crowds have plenty of alternatives.
Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said Friday that he doesn’t anticipate major problems with voting downtown.
“I don’t think we’ll have problems.” Collicutt said. “I think we are prepared for road closures, and parking is hard regardless. There are some internal things, but nothing of note,”
And there is good reason to believe election officials are ready.
As the Rhino Times has previously reported, Guilford County’s preparations for A&T’s centennial homecoming have been underway for approximately a year. County officials have put an extraordinary amount of work into preparing for an event expected to bring a massive influx of visitors to Greensboro.
The city has been doing plenty of preparing of its own. In fact, Greensboro officials were concerned enough about the anticipated crowds and traffic congestion that they closed three downtown facilities early on Friday, Oct. 30.
The Greensboro Central Library, Greensboro History Museum and Greensboro Cultural Center all closed at 2 p.m. Friday due to the anticipated traffic congestion and increased activity downtown.
And that was the day before the biggest homecoming events.
The Greensboro Police Department is deploying roughly 200 additional officers during the celebration, with special attention to crowded areas downtown and near the university.
The city and its public safety partners have also prepared additional emergency response resources, including a rescue task force involving police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
The city is making parking free in the Greene Street, February One and Church Street parking decks beginning at 5 p.m. Friday and continuing throughout the weekend. Other city-owned parking areas and designated street spaces will also be free.
Of course, free parking isn’t necessarily the same thing as available parking when tens of thousands of people are trying to find a place to leave their cars.
Street closures will add to the complications. Beginning at 4 a.m. Saturday, streets surrounding A&T will begin closing for homecoming activities. Those include portions of East Market Street, Lindsay Street, Dudley Street, Yanceyville Street and Sullivan Street.
The university’s homecoming parade begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by the sold-out football game against Elon University at 1 p.m.
And the celebrations won’t end with the football game.
A major homecoming concert featuring Gunna, Ella Mai and other performers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum, while downtown bars, restaurants and entertainment venues will be dealing with homecoming and Halloween crowds.
The university has projected attendance exceeding 200,000 for its centennial homecoming – compared with approximately 175,000 homecoming-related downtown visits last year.
Greensboro and Guilford County officials have been coordinating with the university on traffic, parking, security and emergency services. The preparations are extensive, and there’s no indication that the Old County Courthouse voting location will be closed or inaccessible.
But even with all that planning, there’s only so much that can be done about the number of people and cars trying to occupy the same downtown streets.
And early voters have a deadline: Saturday is the final day of early voting in Guilford County, and all 17 early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
For those accustomed to voting at the Old County Court House, it might be worth choosing a location farther from the homecoming activities.
Other Greensboro voting locations include the Leonard Recreation Center at 6324 Ballinger Road, Lewis Recreation Center at 3110 Forest Lawn Drive, Brown Recreation Center at 302 E. Vandalia Road, Bur-Mil Park Clubhouse at 5834 Bur-Mil Club Road and Barber Park Pavilion at 1500 Barber Park Drive. There are also locations throughout the rest of Guilford County, including High Point, Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden and Stokesdale. The county’s complete list of early voting locations is available at www.guilfordcountync.gov.
Voters who prefer to wait until Election Day can vote Tuesday, Nov. 3, but only at their assigned precinct.
As for those determined to cast their ballots at the Old County Courthouse on Saturday, the best advice may be to go early, allow plenty of extra time and be prepared for a brisk long walk.
The election officials may be ready for Saturday. The police may be ready. The city and county may be ready. However, finding a parking space downtown could be another matter entirely.
