Voters have one more day to cast early ballots
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on November 3, 2006 1:45 PM
Wayne County voters have only one more day to join the more than 4,200 people who have already cast one-stop early ballots before Election Day.
Polls will be open at the Wayne County Public Library from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. If any person is in line by 1 p.m., he or she will be allowed to cast a ballot, Wayne County Board of Elections Director Gary Sims said. But anyone entering the voting line after 1 p.m. will have to wait until Tuesday to make his or her choice.
The library, which is located at 1001 E. Ash St., has all 22 ballot styles for Wayne County's 30 voting precincts. Any voter who has changed his or her address since the last election should vote early because all ballot styles are available, Sims said. Casting a ballot early also provides voters the opportunity to update their information with the Board of Elections. More than 4,200 voters cast early ballots as of Wednesday, he added.
As of Oct. 12, Wayne County has 32,384 people registered as Democrats, 21,447 registered Republicans and 9,887 registered unaffiliated. All registered voters are encouraged to vote early, Sims said.
For those who don't make it by Saturday, polls will open countywide Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. The official election results will be available after the county's canvass at 11 a.m. Nov. 17.
On November's ballots, some Wayne County voters can choose who will represent District 3 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican incumbent Rep. Walter Jones will face challenger Democrat Craig Weber.
Two North Carolina House of Representatives seats will also be on the ballot, with Democrat Van Braxton and Republican Willie Ray Starling vying for the District 10 seat and Democrat Ronnie Griffin challenging Rep. Louis Pate for his District 11 seat.
The state Senate also has two races on the ballot this year. Republican Todd Siebels is campaigning for Democrat Sen. John Kerr's District 5 seat. Sen. Fred Smith is seeking another term in his District 12 seat, battling challenger Democrat Sherry Altman.
In local races, Democrat Pam Minshew and Republican Randy Winders are vying for the Wayne County Clerk of Court position. Clerk of Court Marshall Minchew will retire after his term ends.
Sheriff Carey Winders will seek another term as he battles challenger Ken Edwards.
The only contested Wayne County Board of Education seat is incumbent Lehman Smith's District 1 seat. Smith faces challenger Dave Thomas.
Sample ballots, election information and a voter search engine that allows voters to find out their voting precinct are available on the Wayne County Board of Election's Web site at www.waynegov.com/boe. For any other information, call the Wayne County Board of Elections at 731-1411.