Granville County's Elections Board in Turmoil After June 30th Meeting

The Granville County Board of Elections is proving to be the must-watch drama of the summer. What started as a disagreement over early voting sites has now grown into a county-wide concern about access, transparency, and voting rights. As of July 2, concerns around leadership have now entered the chat. 

Larue Ulshafer, the chair of the Granville County Board of Elections, resigned following the board meeting on June 30 (we've requested a copy of the resignation letter but have not yet received it). This leaves a significant leadership gap at a critical time for election planning, when the board was already struggling to reach consensus.

Board members Sharyn Alvarez and Teresa Gilreath raised their concerns with having people outside the county decide Granville's early voting plan, which is what happens when county boards do not reach consensus.

“To potentially have someone else decide what happens to our voting precincts and where our citizens vote, in my mind its not their decision if we really have not honestly given it an honest analysis and talked about it,” said Gilreath. 

June 30 Meeting Recap: What You Need to Know

• The board passed the early voting schedule, even if the early voting sites are not yet finalized. Early voting for the 2026 Midterm elections in Granville County will be open October 15 - 31 with the following schedule:
  • Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  •  Saturdays 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Except on the last Saturday (Oct. 31), hours will be 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
• A possible solution was floated to add a fourth early voting site. This would require additional funding from the county. Granville County Commissioner Tony Cozart was present at the meeting and said he would add it to the agenda for the commission’s July 6 meeting at 7:00 p.m.
• A special called meeting was scheduled for July 15 at 4:00 p.m. to further discuss the early voting site locations. The board had previously voted along party lines to move two early voting sites out of majority Black and brown population centers of Oxford and Creedmoor and into rural, whiter areas. 
  • This meeting is expected to focus on:
    • Revisiting early voting site decisions
    • Discussing the possibility of adding a fourth site in northern Granville
    • Voting after hearing directly from county leadership about funding

Bottom Line:

Early voting locations and schedules are important for ensuring that citizens can freely participate in our democracy. Changing early voting sites is a big deal because it can mean longer drives, fewer options, and more barriers for people who are already balancing work, childcare, and transportation challenges. And here in Granville County, where geography already plays a role in access, this is not just about where people vote. It is about whether the people of Granville County feel like they had a voice in the process at all.