One-stop early voting to start
By From staff reports
Published in News on April 18, 2012 1:46 PM
One-stop early voting for the May 8 primary election will begin Thursday morning and will continue through May 5 at three locations across the county.
Meanwhile, people who obtained voting by absentee ballots must return them to the Wayne County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on May 7.
One-stop early voting sites are:
* Wayne County Public Library, 1001 E. Ash St.
* First Congregational Church, 215 Sleepy Creek Road, Dudley
* Woodmen of the World Lodge 3733, U.S. 117 North, Goldsboro.
The three 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.
During that time, new voters may complete a voter registration form and vote.
The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on May 8 as voters will choose candidates within national and state partisan primaries along with the general elections for the towns of Fremont and Mount Olive.
Elections for Fremont, Mount Olive and Goldsboro were delayed from 2011 due to the results of the 2010 census data and subsequent redistricting.
May 8 will be the actual election date for all town council seats and the mayor's office in Fremont and Mount Olive.
However, for Goldsboro, May 8 will be the city's non-partisan primary.
Wayne County Board of Elections Director Vickie Reed explained that of the seven municipalities in the county, only Goldsboro's charter requires a non-partisan primary. As such the city will hold its general election at a later date.
The May 8 non-partisan primary winnows the city's candidates for seats down to two in advance of the general election. Two seats from Goldsboro will be voted on in the primary as three candidates each vie for the offices of mayor and District 4 council member.
Typically, the city's primary is held in October in advance of the November general election.
The date for Goldsboro's general election will either be June 26 or July 17.
Mrs. Reed explained that the date isn't exact due to a new federal law.
The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act requires that military and citizens overseas must have ballots available to them at least 60 days ahead of any federal election.
Mrs. Reed said that if any of North Carolina's 13 U.S. Congressional District primary candidates request a second primary, that primary will need to be pushed up 10 weeks to July 17, meaning the Goldsboro general election would be held then.
A secondary primary could occur if a candidate in the first primary does not receive at least 40 percent of the votes and another candidate requests an additional one.
Mrs. Reed explained that candidates have two days following the official canvass to request the secondary primary. That date is May 15, meaning the earliest the date of Goldsboro's election could be known for certain is May 17.
In the case that no secondary primary is held, the city's general election, which will include races for all six seats and the mayorship, will be held June 26.
For more information on precincts, voting information or sample ballots, visit the Wayne County Board of Elections website at waynegov.com.