Elections Update: Buncombe County Board of Elections Swears in New Members

Ahead of next year’s 2024 presidential election, the Buncombe County Board of Elections officially swore in its members for their two-year term. Among other duties, county boards conduct local elections, operate voting sites, maintain voter registration lists, and handle many other aspects of elections administration. The State Board works with county boards of elections offices to ensure elections are conducted lawfully and fairly.

Buncombe County, like all county Boards of Elections, has five members that are appointed by the State Board of Elections. The makeup consists of two Democrats and two Republicans with the Chair being appointed by the governor. You can read more about the duties and responsibilities of the Board of Elections here.

To learn more about the current Buncombe County Board of Elections members, you can read their profiles below. For more information about elections in Buncombe County, click here. The first Board of Elections meeting for the new members will be Aug. 1.

Buncombe County Board of Elections profiles

Chairman of the Board

Name: Jake Quinn
Terms served: I've served on the Board of Elections since 2018. This is my fourth term on the Board, third as Chair
Why is serving on the Board of Elections important to you?
Voting is a sacred right of citizenship that I wish everyone to exercise. I seek to make voting as easy and accessible as we can for every community member, so that every voice can be heard.
What would you like the public to know about elections in Buncombe County?
Our elections work well in Buncombe due to the strong support they receive across the community. Our County Commissioners allocate the resources to enable this success, while our top-notch Election Services staff members provide the expertise to apply those resources effectively. Hundreds of community members who serve as Election Officials do a great job of operating our Early Voting and Election Day voting sites, and many others pitch in to help the political parties and their candidates wage their campaigns and monitor our elections. The end result of this broad-based community effort is a high participation rate -- people vote! -- meaning that Buncombe County is heard.
Please feel free to add anything else informative or interesting about the BOE or elections.
The Board of Elections invites the public's attendance at our meetings, and we appreciate their participation. People can attend in person or virtually, and we hope they will! Finally, I want to remind every member of the Buncombe community that their vote is their voice, and the Board of Elections is here to help them be heard. Vote! 

Board members

Name: Steven Aceto
Number of terms served: Second term
Why is serving on the Board of Elections important to you?
Election integrity is God’s gift to our community and to each other. I want to be a part of that.
What would you like the public to know about elections in Buncombe County?
I believe election administration in Buncombe County is fair, nonpartisan, and accurate to the best of our ability and what the law allows us to do as members of the Board and staff. Keep us accountable to you the public by staying informed, by attending our meetings, and by bringing your concerns directly to our attention.

Name: Mary Ann Braine
Terms served: First term
Why is serving on the Board of Elections important to you?
Voting is the primary way that citizens in the United States have to participate in our representative republic. I believe it is important for Buncombe County voters to have elections officials that represent them in monitoring current processes and creating new processes that provide the voting public in Buncombe County with confidence in the integrity of our local elections. 
What do you hope to accomplish during your time on the Board of Elections?
Recent elections have caused the integrity of our elections to come under public scrutiny. The processes that are in place to carry out our elections should be as transparent to the public as possible. It is my desire to bring transparency and security to these processes that will improve public confidence in the integrity of our elections.

Name: Glen C. Shults, Jr.
Terms served: This will be my second term. I was appointed to the board in March 2022, and finished out the 2021-2023 term. I was fortunate to be appointed to the board for the 2023-2025 term by the county Democratic Party. 
Why is serving on the Board of Elections important to you?
Service on the board enables me to participate in an important and meaningful way in the election process. Issues surrounding the election process have been of paramount importance in the county over the past several years, and I believe that service on the board allows me to make a positive contribution to the election process. Additionally, learning about the election laws in North Carolina has been very interesting and informative.
What would you like to know about elections in Buncombe County?
We have a professional and highly competent staff at the Election Services office. The staff is very much dedicated to public service and strives to make the voting process as efficient and transparent as possible. I have found the members on the Board of Elections to be very pleasant and dedicated to the work that we do.  It is very much our hope that every eligible voter in Buncombe County exercises their right to vote because it is one of the most basic rights that we possess.
Please feel free to add anything else informative or interesting about the Board of Elections or elections in general.
I would just add that the Board really appreciates those who attend the meetings. It demonstrates a community interest in the process. Plus, it enables the Board members to get to know individuals in the community who take a special interest in election services. Please come as you are able.

Name: Sally Stein
Number of terms served: First term
Why is serving on the Board of Elections important to you?
To ensure fair and safe elections.
What do you hope to accomplish during your time on the BOE?
Work collaboratively with other board members and staff to ensure safe and fair elections.