Today is Primary Election Day in North Carolina
Guns are allowed, ballot selfies are not. Two Congressional candidates are cousins. Photo ID is required. Plus: Watch election officials discuss what to expect and answer my questions.
In NC you can bring your legal gun to vote, depending on your polling place, but you can’t take a picture when voting, a.k.a. a ballot selfie. Watch and listen below about the 2024 Primary Election, today, March 5.
The Constitution sets some limits on the people’s choices for president - but the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that it’s unconstitutional for state governments to decide on Donald Trump’s qualifications. Multiple people are running for federal, state, and local offices, including seats for the U.S. House of Representatives, NC Governor, the Council of State, NC House, NC Senate, county commissioners, and local boards of education. The primary election is today in North Carolina, as I previously reported. It is a crowded race for Lt. Governor in the Republican primary.
Two Republican Congressional candidates running for the 14th (the new district for Lake Lure) are cousins: Tim Moore and Jeff Gregory. Moore confirmed this recently at an event in Polk County. He said voter ID still needs work but it will “be nice this year…to finally show a photo.”
Down the Republican ballot, the Rutherford County Commissioners’ race is heating up.
Don’t forget your photo ID: North Carolina voters will be asked to show a photo ID when they check in to vote.
Click here if you vote in Rutherford County to view who has filed to run in 2024.
Click here to view candidate lists for every office in NC.
Find your sample ballot: All eligible, registered voters will find their sample ballot(s) in the “Your Sample Ballot” section of their Voter Search profile. Anyone running unopposed in the primary will be automatically included on the official election ballot in November.
Who can vote in the primary?
Voters affiliated with any political party may vote on the ballot of candidates for their party only. For example, a registered Republican may vote on the Republican primary ballot only. Some recognized political parties in North Carolina may not have primary ballots. Unaffiliated voters may choose to vote on any one political party’s ballot. A voter cannot vote in more than one party’s primary.
It’s important to remember that your voting record is a public record. Anyone can look up your voting history. New this year is the section showing the date you voted early. Early voting was held February 15-March 2. Here’s mine below showing that I voted on February 15. (I am registered as an unaffiliated voter and chose the Republican ballot.)
How are winners determined?
Candidates who win in each contest on their party’s ballot will become their party’s nominees. The nominee will appear on the ballot in the general election contest. To become the party’s nominee, the candidate must win by at least 30% of the vote plus one. For multi-seat primary contests (for example, at-large county commissioners), primary candidates win if they earn 30% of the total number of votes cast, divided by the number of nominations to be filled.
Could there be a second primary, a.k.a. a run-off?
If no candidate reaches the vote percentage necessary to become the nominee in a contest on the ballot, a runner-up can request a second primary to be held on May 14, 2024. The NCSBE will determine if any contests will have second primaries. At least one Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, Hal Weatherman, told me he expects there will be a runoff. Time will tell.
Yesterday, election officials held a press conference and offered 10 Tips for 2024 Primary Election Day Voters. Watch below and see what they said when I asked for clarification about photography at the polls. Officials warned that results may be delayed due to a change in state law and results are not official until the county canvass on March 15.
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Cops & Congress by Annie Dance is a service journalism newsletter, focusing on police, policy, and public records in the Lake Lure area of western NC and beyond.
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