Voters in Columbus County towns and cities have only hours to make their voices known in mayoral and council races.
Voting for municipal offices began at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and continues until 7:30 p.m. Only registered voters who live in towns and cities may cast a ballot in Tuesday’s elections. Several candidates and voters said this weekend that due to the early start of the 2026 campaign season – filing doesn’t begin for those offices until December – some voters were confused when they were turned away at the polls.
Polls open for residents of towns at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Fewer than 600 voters of the 9,700 eligible took advantage of the early polls in municipal races.
Voters in Sandyfield will be deciding on beer and wine sales as well as town board and mayoral races. Whiteville, Bolton, Lake Waccamaw, Chadbourn, Tabor City, Brunswick, Tabor City, Fair Bluff and Cerro Gordo have town council and mayoral races on the ballot.
Only one early polling place, the county board of elections office, was open for one stop voting. A total of 501 votes out of a possible 9,141 were cast during early polls. Those votes will be counted on Election Night after the polls close.
Bolton has 303 registered voters. One early vote was cast.
In Cerro Gordo, with 124 registered voters, two early votes were cast.
Chadbourn has 1,195 voters who could cast a ballot in the municipal election. A total of 38 were recorded.
Ransom Township, which includes Sandyfield, has 346 voters, and 14 cast early votes.
At Lake Waccamaw, where one of the hottest mayoral races and two fierce races for commissioner are on the ballot, 181 out of 1,135 voters went early.
Whiteville 1 saw 153 out of 2,454 eligible voters go early.
South Whiteville has 234 eligible voters for the municipal elections, and 35 cast an early ballot.
Whiteville midtown has 923 voters, and 26 voted early.
Fair Bluff had 13 of 581 voters go early.
Tabor City had 27 out of 1,685 voters go to the early poll.
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