Absentee ballots ready for LaRoque-Starling rematch
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on September 3, 2006 2:03 AM
The last day to request absentee ballots for the North Carolina House of Representatives District 10 primary is Tuesday, Wayne County Board of Elections officials said.
All absentee ballots must be returned to the Wayne County Board of Elections office at 209 S. William St. by 5 p.m. Sept. 11.
The winner of the Sept. 12 primary between incumbent Stephen LaRoque and Willie Ray Starling for the Republican nomination of House District 10, which includes parts of Wayne Lenoir counties and all of Greene, will face Democrat Van Braxton in November.
The only Wayne residents eligible to vote are those who registered Republican, or those who are registered unaffiliated, but who voted Republican in the May primary.
District 10 only includes four precincts in Wayne County -- Spring Creek, New Hope Friends Church, Dudley Fire Station and Indian Springs Fire Station.
The state Board of Elections ruled unanimously last month that voting errors in the May primary negated the results that gave Starling an 11-vote victory over LaRoque.
After the primary, LaRoque had filed an election protest on the grounds that Lenoir County unaffiliated voters were not asked by poll workers if they wished to vote Republican, Democrat or unaffiliated tickets, which is required by state law. Voting machine problems in Lenoir also were cited in the board's decision to redo the vote.
One-stop voting began Aug. 24 and will continue until Sept. 9. The Wayne Board of Elections office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays to accept eligible voters' ballots.
The primary's canvass will be held Sept. 15 and any recount must be submitted by 5 p.m. on that date. If the new primary results in a tie, state law says the state Board of Elections will determine a method of random selection to decide the winner.
For more information on the primary, precinct information or to see if you are eligible, call the Wayne County Board of Elections at 731-1411.