Early vote count soaring
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 27, 2012 11:30 PM
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News-Argus/TROY HERRING
Wayne County residents wait in line at the Public Library on Ash Street to cast their votes last week.
As the final week of one-stop voting begins, 18,589 ballots already have been cast in Wayne County ahead of the Nov. 6 general election.
One-stop voting continues through next Saturday.
Today also signals the opening of satellite one-stop voting locations at Fremont Town Hall and Johnston Ambulance Service on U.S. 70 West.
The hours for one-stop voting are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Saturday and today from 1 until 5 p.m.
The other one-stop sites are the Wayne County Public Library, 1001 E. Ash St.; First Congregational Church, 215 Sleepy Creek Road, Dudley; and Woodmen of the World Lodge 3733 on U.S. 117 North.
There are 69,785 registered voters in the county: 35,890 Democrats, 21,954 Republican, 12,856 Unaffiliated and 85 Libertarians.
The 18,5898 ballots cast include 10,051 Democrats, 6,165 Republicans, 2,340 Unaffiliated and 33 Libertarians.
People may register in person and then vote at a one-stop voting site in their county of residence. To register and vote, the person must sign and complete a voter registration form attesting that they meet eligibility requirements.
They also must provide proof of residence by presenting a document that shows their name and current address in the county.
Acceptable identification includes a North Carolina driver's license, a photo identification from a government agency or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document.
Polls will be open on Election Day, Nov. 6, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Election Night results will be available online at the Wayne County Board of Elections and N.C. Board of Elections websites.
Also, sample ballots may be downloaded from either site.
Voters can also find out their precinct and polling place on the website or they can call the Wayne County Board of Elections office at 919-731-1411.
The state site is www.ncsbe.gov. To get to the county site, go to www.waynegov.com. Next go to Dept (A-H) and click on Board of Elections.
Voters are reminded that the presidential contest is listed first on the ballot and that it must be marked separately, even if they are voting a straight-party ticket.
Also, voting a straight-party ticket does not include the non-partisan offices that are listed on the back of the ballot. Those include the Wayne County Board of Education, judicial races and the Soil and Water Conservation district supervisor.
People may vote a straight-party ticket and also vote for a candidate of a different party in any individual office. Some races, such as those for president and governor include a line where voters may write in a candidate.
To cast a ballot, the ovals next to the candidate's name must be filled in. If the ballot is torn, incorrectly marked or defaced, the voter may return it to polling officials and request a new one.