Tyrone residents accustomed to using the Tyrone First Baptist Church as their voting location will begin using the Tyrone library instead beginning in 2012. The Tyrone Town Council on Dec. 15 voted unanimously to move the location to the library after a complaint was filed with the state questioning whether a sign placed on the church during the Nov. 8 election that encouraged citizens to vote against the alcohol referendum might have violated state law.
Fayette County Election and Voter Registration director Tom Sawyer in a Nov. 28 letter said that, “We had been using the First Baptist Church on Arrowood Drive there in Tyrone, but had an issue develop in the last municipal election which has made us decide that we need to consider changing this polling location.”
Tyrone Police Chief and interim Town Manager Brandon Perkins explained that during the Nov. 8 election the church had placed a message on a sign in front of the building encouraging citizens to vote against the alcohol referendum.
“Consequently, someone filed a complaint with the Secretary of State and the matter is currently being investigated to ascertain whether or not any laws were violated,” Perkins said.
Sawyer, who was also at the meeting, told the council that, essentially, poll workers “just need a roof over our head and an Internet connection.”
After some discussion among themselves and with library director Julie Digby, the council voted unanimously for the library to be used on election days as the town’s voting location. The decision does not pertain to early voting, only to the regular Tuesday voting days.
