Voters request absentee ballots
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 30, 2012 1:46 PM
As of Thursday morning, the Wayne County Board of Elections had mailed out 63 absentee ballots for the May 8 primary election.
Of that number, 38 were Republican, 17 Democratic and 8 Unaffiliated. Some went no farther than Goldsboro, while others traveled as far as South Korea and Swaziland (between Mozambique and South Africa).
Voting by absentee ballot began March 19, and the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot by mail is May 1 at 5 p.m. Absentee ballots must be returned to the Wayne County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on May 7.
One-stop early voting will begin April 19 and continue through May 5 at the Wayne County Public Library, 1001 E. Ash St.; First Congregational Church, 215 Sleepy Creek Road, Dudley; and Woodmen of the World Lodge 3733, U.S. 117 North, Goldsboro.
One-stop locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 19, 20, 23-27, 30 and May 1-4 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 5.
New voters may complete a voter registration form and vote during one-stop voting.
The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on May 8.
April 13 is the last day for people to register or to change their name, address or political affiliation prior to the primary.
Three of the county's polling sites have moved since the last primary election:
* Precinct 10: From Goldsboro Friends Church, 700 Guilford St., to Eastern Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 1401 N. Carolina St.
* Precinct 25: From Mount Olive Fire Station, 401 N. Center St., to Mount Olive Civic Center, 110 W. Main St.
* Precinct 30: From Mount Olive First United Methodist Church, 120 E. James St., to Southern Academy, 612 S. Breazeale Ave.
Voters residing in these precincts should have received a new voter registration card in the mail.
Prior to voting, people will be asked to state their name, residence address, and since this is a primary election, voters are required to state their registered party.
After the information is verified, voters registered as Democrat will be issued a Democrat ballot, Republicans will be issued a Republican ballot, Libertarians will be issued a Libertarian ballot, and Unaffiliated voters will be issued a Democrat, Republican, or a non-partisan ballot, based on their preference. Non-partisan ballots will contain only the candidates running for non-partisan offices and any referenda that may be on the ballot.
Anyone who has questions concerning their voter registration status, polling site location, or any other issues concerning access to voting should contact the Wayne County Board of Elections at 731-1411.
The website is wayne gov.com/boe. It can be used to get registration information, including maps to polling sites.
Sample ballots and candidate information also will be posted.
May 11 has been tentatively scheduled as the date to review precinct tapes, provisional ballots and to conduct any recounts.