ROCKINGHAM- Early voting begins today (April 19) in Richmond County. The early voting site is located at the Richmond County Cooperative Extension Office at 123 Caroline Street in Rockingham.
The early polls will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday May 5 from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. According to Connie Kelly, director of elections for Richmond County, “Early voting is always popular.” Kelly noted, “There seems to be a lot of interest in this years elections, including highly contested races in the US House of Representatives, the NC State Senate as well as the local County Commissioners and School Board.” Kelly went on to say, “There is just one Saturday for early voting in this election; it’s on May 5th.”
The contested races include the 9th District U.S. House of Representatives seat. Democrats will be deciding between Dan McCready of Charlotte, Christian Cano (also of Charlotte) and Clarence Goins, Jr. of Eastover, NC. The Republican ticket includes incumbent Robert Pittenger and challenger Mark Harris, both of Charlotte.
The North Carolina State Senate District 25 race finds Republican incumbent Tom McInnis of Ellerbe facing off with Michelle Lexo of Whispering Pines. The winner of this primary race will face Helen Probst Mills of Pinehurst in November. She is running unopposed on the Democratic ticket.
In the County Commissioners race, five Democratic candidates are vying for four seats. Incumbents Herb Long of Rockingham and Don Bryant of Hoffman are facing Rick Watkins of Hamlet, Tavares Bostic of Marston, and Peggy Covington of Rockingham in the Democratic primary. The four highest vote getters will then face Republican Incumbent Ben Moss of Hamlet and fellow Republican Jim Entwistle of Rockingham in the November general election. Due to having less than four candidates, the Republicans do not require a primary in this election cycle.
In the Richmond County Board of Education race, which is non-partisan, there are seven candidates running for four seats. Incumbents Bobbie Sue Ormsby, Joe Richardson, and Irene Pittman Aiken are facing Daryl Mason, Johnnie McCullers, Statha Osborne and Pat Campbell. All of the School Board Candidates are from Rockingham.
Kelly noted that you must vote for your party candidates in a primary. She said, “It’s the party’s chance to decide who they want to represent them in the general election in November.” If you are registered as an independent you may vote for either Republican or Democrat but if you are registered as either a Republican or Democrat you must vote for candidates affiliated with your party.
A final reminder from Kelly: “Early voting will end on Saturday, May 5th and after that time the only opportunity to vote will be on election day." She added, "We always have a few people come in on the Monday prior to the election that have to be turned away; the only option at that point is to vote at your precinct on May 8th.”
