At 3 p.m. today, Let Asheville Vote organizer Charlie Hume — who’s pictured here adding up the petitions — submitted 5,650 signatures to the city of Asheville clerk’s office. If the Buncombe County Board of Elections confirms that 5,000 or more are from registered city voters, then the group’s petition to force a referendum on the issue of partisan ballots in municipal elections will be successful.
The BOE will have 10 days to check the signatures against their computer database and confirm the numbers.
With two more hours before the end of the business day, Hume said he and other volunteers hope to bring in even more signatures before the submission deadline for the petition, which is 5 p.m. today.
“You know, it is real encouraging to see this in the city,” Hume said in an interview earlier today.
— Brian Postelle, staff writer
UPDATE: This evening, the group’s Web site (www.letashevillevote.org) announces the final total of signatures gathered: 6,192.
At 5:00 PM on July 16, 2007, the “Let Asheville Vote” coalition delivered referendum petitions containing 6,192 signatures to the office of the Asheville city clerk. The city has 10 days to validate the signatures through the Buncombe County Board of Elections.