CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Come Thursday, voters will be able to cast their ballots at two sport venues in Mecklenburg County.

Spectrum Center and Bank of America Stadium will be early voting sites for the first time ever.

Hornets Sports & Entertainment Executive Vice President & Spectrum Center General Manager Donna Julian is excited about this opportunity.
 
"We are so honored and proud that we are a polling site. It's so important for people to exercise their right to vote and I think it's really unique this is our first event back from not having an event for a period of time,” Julian says.

This will be the first event Spectrum Center has held since March.

“The Spectrum Center is a community asset. It’s a building for everybody, so it kind of makes sense people would have the opportunity to come vote here,” Julian says.

Due to the pandemic, the set up for the early voting site will be different. There will be floor markers on the floor to keep people six feet apart and voters will be required to wear masks. In addition, voters will receive a dual purpose stylus pen in a pre-packaged bag for them to use during the voting process.  

Carol Horne works for the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections as an assistant site coordinator for the Spectrum Center. She’s excited to welcome voters to the site.

“I taught school for 40 years and I feel like the first day of school tomorrow,” Horne says.

Horne says working this election season was her way of helping the community.

“I think it’s important that the people vote so I want to enable them to come vote,” Horne says.

There will be curbside voting on 5th Street in front of the Spectrum Center for people with disabilities.

Free parking for voters will be available at the Center City green parking deck during the early voting period from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.  The early voting period runs from Oct. 15 through Oct. 31.

For a list of other early voting sites in Mecklenburg County, click here.