ROCKINGHAM — The flurry of voters hitting the polls won’t be the only storm on Election Day.
The National Weather Service is calling for strong to severe thunderstorms to sweep across the state Tuesday afternoon.
How that will impact voter turnout is yet to be seen.
However, records from the Richmond County Board of Elections show about 22 percent of the county’s 30,419 registered voters took advantage of the early voting period that ended Saturday.
Elections Director Connie Kelly said there were 6,700 early voters in this mid-term election, more than in either of the past two elections.
Kelly said she considered that a “heavy turnout,” especially for those from Ellerbe and Hamlet, since the only polling location for early voting was the Cooperative Extension office in Rockingham.
Below is a list of polling places around Richmond County, with two being new locations:
Rockingham No. 1
City of Rockingham Parks & Recreation (Browder Park), 1311 Rockingham Road
Rockingham No. 2
Leath Memorial Library (Calvin Little Room), 412 E. Franklin Street
Rockingham No. 3
Northside Fire Department, 209 Bear Branch Road
Wolf Pit No. 1
East Rockingham Senior Center, 135 Safie 6th St.
Wolf Pit No. 2
Community Church Recreation Building, 193 Mill Road
Wolf Pit No. 3
Cordova School, 194 Church St.
Wolf Pit No. 4
Ellerbe Grove Baptist Church, 162 Ellerbe Grove Church Road
Marks Creek No. 1
First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 300 Charlotte Street, Hamlet
Marks Creek No. 2
First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 200 Rice Street, Hamlet
Beaver Dam No. 1
Fletcher’s Chapel United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 108 McCoy Drive, Hoffman
Beaver Dam No. 2
Mt. Zion United Church of Christ Fellowship Hall, 986 Ledbetter Road
Mineral Springs No. 1
Ellerbe Town Hall, 108 W. Page St.
Mineral Springs No. 2
Norman Community Center, 107 East Moore Street
Steeles No. 1
Mangum Community Building, 5838 Grassy Island Road
Steeles No. 2
Concord United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 316 Concord Church Road
Black Jack No. 1
Mount Pleasant Community Building, 876 Grassy Island Road
The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and unofficial results will be announced after all precincts have reported.
