Election Day Tuesday; Early Polls Begin to Slow

Saturday is the last day for early voting in Columbus County.

All five Columbus county one stops are open until 7:30 p.m. tonight (Friday), and until 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

As of Thursday night, early voter turnout was starting to slow down here. Thursday was the least active day except for the single day of Sunday voting.

At close of business Thursday, 15.798 voters have visited an early poll here, including 951 on Thursday. The county has just under 37,000 registered voters.

The five early sites are the county board of elections office; Chadbourn municipal annex; Fair Bluff Fire and Rescue, Tabor City courthouse, and the Ransom Center on General Howe Highway in Sandyfield.

Voter ID is required to cast a ballot. Free voter IDs can be obtained at the board of elections office for those without an approved government ID such as a student card, driver’s license or state identity card. Saturday is the last day to obtain a free voter ID. Voters who do not have an ID on Election Day will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot if they fill out an exception form.

Any registered voter may cast a ballot at any early poll through Saturday. On Election Day, votes must be cast in home precincts.

Polls will open at 6:30 a./m. on Election Day, and close at 7:30 p.m. Polls will be open at:

Bogue – Hallsboro Fire Department, 753 Hallsboro Rd. S.
Bolton- Bolton Fire Department, 225 9Th St.

Bug Hill- Guideway Elementary Cafeteria, 11570 Swamp Fox Hwy. E.

Cerro Gordo- Cerro Gordo Town Hall, 84 Cherry St.

Chadbourn- Chadbourn Municipal Annex 208 E. 1st Ave.

Cherry Bluff- Fair Bluff Fire & Rescue Dept., 152 Main St.

Lees Southeast- Old Dock Community Building, 12820 New Britton Hwy. E., Nakina

Nakina- Nakina Fire & Rescue, 514 Ramsey Ford Rd.

North Lees- Pleasant Plains Church, 61 Pleasant Plains Church Rd., Whiteville

NW Whiteville- North Whiteville Fire Dept., 7474 Peacock Rd.

Ransom- Ransom Event Center, 2696 Gen. Howe Hwy. ( N.C. 11), Riegelwood

South Whiteville- Abundant Life Church, 5384 James B. White Hwy S.

South Williams- Tabor City Courthouse, 110 W 4th St., Tabor City

Tatum- WOW Lodge 1088, 6847 Hayes Lennon Hwy, Evergreen

Waccamaw- Lake Waccamaw Fire Dept., 203 Flemington Dr., Lake Waccamaw

Welches Creek- Welches Creek Fire Dept., 45 Millie-Christine Rd., Whiteville.

West Whiteville- American Legion Post 137, 76 Legion Dr., Whiteville

Whiteville 1- Whiteville Rescue Unit Building, 106 Flowers Pridgen Dr.

Whiteville 2- Vineland Station Depot, 701 E Main St.

Williams 1- Beaverdam OFW Baptist Church, 2665 Beaverdam Rd., Chadbourn

Williams 2- Lebanon United Methodist Church, 9327 James B. White Hwy. S., Whiteville

The State Board of Elections reported that 3.8 million votes have been cast in North Carolina as of non Friday (today). Absentee ballots made up 205,140 of those. The state has 7.9 million registered voters.

Republican and Unaffiliated voters have turned out far stronger numbers so far than Democrats. As of Friday morning, incomplete data from the N.C. State Board of Election showed 547,984 Democrats, or 22.7 percent, had cast an early ballot. Republican turnout stood at 714,539, or 31.9 of those registered to the GOP. Unaffiliated voters were gaining on Democrats, with 534,098 ballots cast. Statewide, Libertarians had cast 2,791 votes.

Black vote statewide is significantly down this election cycle, according to the state board of elections.  As of Tuesday, roughly 544,000 black voters have turned out, as opposed to more than 900,000 at this same point in the 2020 elections. North Carolina is one of eight states that comprise about half the country’s black voters.

About Jefferson Weaver 2436 Articles
Jefferson Weaver is the Managing Editor of Columbus County News and he can be reached at (910) 914-6056, (910) 632-4965, or by email at jeffersonweaver@ColumbusCountyNews.com.

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