After the usual initial surge, early voting has slightly slowed down again in Columbus County.
Wednesday saw just 600 voters visiting the polls. The Board of Elections office had 331; Chadbourn 73; Fair Bluff, 25; Ransom, 91; and Tabor City, 80. Tuesday’s numbers made the total early voter turnout 3,341 so far. Oct. 15 is the busiest day so far, with 722.
Early polls typically see a slack period before the last few days, when numbers once again jump.
Columbus County had 37,521 registered voters as of Oct. 17, according to the state Bar of Elections. Of those, Unaffiliated voters make up a strong majority, with 13,986 registrations. Republicans and Democrats separated by less than 500, with 11,929 registered for the COP and 11,472 Democrats. Libertarians number 124, with Green Party faithful at 10.
Early voting for the midterms ends Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. Any registered voter may cast a ballot at any early poll, but on Election Day, all voters must go to their home precincts.
Voter ID is required to cast a ballot. If you do not have an acceptable form of ID, you can get a free voter card at the Board of Elections’ main office in Whiteville. Voters without ID will be asked to cast a provisional ballot.
