Super Tuesday in Asheville, Western North Carolina: Your guide to who's on the ballot
ASHEVILLE – It’s Super Tuesday in America as North Carolina is one of the 17 jurisdictions holding primary elections to decide who will compete in the November general.
Voters will be visiting Buncombe County’s 80 precincts and the Citizen Times will be dispatching reporters from Leicester to Black Mountain to capture the excitement of civic participation in the primary races for seats from U.S. President to N.C. Governor to Asheville City Council.
While the presidential primaries have each become coronations, with President Joe Biden not encountering a meaningful challenger and former President Donald Trump emerging from a once-crowded field, state, federal and local races down the ballot will help determine the lawmakers and regulators who will serve North Carolinians in the upcoming year.
Locally, elections for Congress, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Asheville City Council, Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court and District Judge will likely be decided by the end of the day.
Live updates: Follow coverage of voting and the results in the Asheville area
Who's on the ballot in the Asheville, Buncombe areas?
Buncombe commissioners: What to know about 4 Buncombe County commission candidates running in March 5 primary
Congressional race: GOP Western NC House candidates: agree with Trump on NATO? Stances on Mission, housing
City Council: What to know about 8 Asheville City Council candidates running in March 5 primary
District judges: Buncombe district court judge forum: Bail bonds, criminal justice reform, jail disparity
Clerk of Court: Democratic candidates make case for seat on Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court
NC governor: Who's running for NC governor candidates in the 2024 primary election
More: North Carolina lieutenant governor candidates running in the 2024 primary election
What is voter turnout expected to be like?
Buncombe County Elections Services Director Corinne Duncan said at a March 4 news conference that she expects between 25,000 to 30,000 voters to punch their ballots on Election Day, explaining that around half of voters come to the polls on Election Day. According to county tracking, 26,149, or 12.7% of the county's 205,648 registered voters in Buncombe voted early.
A larger proportion of Democrats took advantage of early voting than did Republicans — 23% of the county’s Democrats voted early, while 21% of Republicans turned out before Election Day.
Duncan said this would put Buncombe County on pace to match turnout for the 2022 midterm primaries, when 54,035 residents voted. Those turnout numbers pale in comparison to the 2020 primary election, when 82,519 residents flocked to the polls.
Duncan said voter turnout can depend on passion for certain races, or even the weather.
What do voters need to bring to the polls?
North Carolina voters are also now required to bring photo ID to the polls, the result of a Republican-led effort to strengthen election security. A report from the state elections board found 674 referred cases of fraud, misregistration, double voting or election interference in the state from 2015 to 2022. During that time, there were 24.7 million votes cast in North Carolina for primary and general elections, state tracking shows.
Who's on WNC ballots?: What to know before Super Tuesday in West NC: Who's on the ballot? When do polls open?
When are primary results expected?
Once polls close at 7:30 p.m., judges at each polling location will come together to audit their own election tallies, Duncan said. There is a chief judge and two party judges at each location. The judges print out the results on a tabulator and check them for accuracy. Data is then sent to the county’s election services building at 59 Woodfin Place where the results are uploaded to the state elections website.
In previous years, early voting tallies would be released at 7:30 p.m., but this year, workers will not be able to start counting votes until polls close.
Will new election equipment affect voting?
This primary election will be the first major trial for new election equipment and statewide laws in Buncombe County.
The county used its ExpressVote machines for the early voting period. These voting machines use touch screens and produce paper records used to tabulate the vote. They cost Buncombe $604,225. Duncan said the machines were well-received and that the county’s auditing process was faster. On election day, the county is still using hand-marked ballots, she said.
Buncombe County has been training election workers on the rules and mechanics of the civic process for the past two months, Duncan said. Each worker is required to go through a four-hour training.
When are election results official?
Election results don’t become official until after the canvassing period, but voters will typically have a good idea about who won after election night. The Board of Elections will confirm that all eligible ballots were counted. Counties will certify results 10 days after Election Day at a public meeting.
State and county boards conduct five types of audits after the elections.
Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC primary election: Who's on ballot in Asheville on Super Tuesday