Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, and while we’ve all been hearing about the Presidential race for months, there are many other important issues in this year’s election. We’ll be electing a Governor and a Senator in our state, for example. This year, the City of Asheville has three bond referendums on the ballot.

A general obligation bond is a way for cities to borrow money to pay for large construction projects. Because bonds aren’t part of the annual budget of the City, they get voted on in a referendum. Many cities regularly hold bond referendums, but Asheville hasn’t done so in over 20 years. These bonds will be at the very bottom of the ballot.

The three bonds are for: Parks and Recreation, Affordable Housing, and Streets, Sidewalks and Bike Lanes. You can read more about each of them on the City’s website, which includes a break-down of how the money will be used if the bonds are approved along with interactive maps so you can see the priority projects around the City.

Several large groups in town support the bonds, including the United Way and the Chamber of Commerce, and they created a website, Facebook page, and YouTube testimonials, which you can access here.

Early voting in North Carolina begins on October 20 and continues through November 5 at twenty sites around the County, which are open most days during this period from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. If you haven’t registered to vote at your current address you can do same-day registration during early voting. During early voting you can go to any of the open voting sites, but if you choose to vote on November 8, Election Day, you must vote at your own precinct site.