Election season is about to get underway in Orange County, with early voting beginning April 19 for the primary election on May 8.
What do you need to know in order to vote?
The Orange County Board of Elections is beginning its voter-education campaign now – with two events to offer citizens an opportunity to ask questions, to learn more about the elections calendar, and to register to vote.
The first event will take place Wednesday, March 21, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Seymour Center on Homestead Road. There will be another event Tuesday, March 27, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Passmore Senior Center in Hillsborough.
Orange County Elections Director Rachel Boyce Raper says the Board of Elections has had their work cut out for them, with early voting quickly approaching.
“Absentee voting by mail (already) started – so right now we’re just prepping ballots, getting them out in the mail, (and) getting more and more ballots in,” she says. “Right now we’re prepping for testing and elections officials training, so there’s a lot going on right now.”
Raper says the board is making election integrity a priority in the weeks approaching the election.
“A lot of people are concerned about security of the ballots, and I just want to let everyone know that Orange County uses 100% paper ballots,” she says. “We don’t have the DREs (direct-recording electronic machines) that have been the source of a lot of angst for some people.”
This year’s election will take place with new district lines for the State House and State Senate. Orange County is divided between House Districts 50 and 56, so Raper says the latest redistricting will affect some Orange County voters.
“If you’re in the Weaver Dairy, Weaver Dairy Satellite, Cedar Falls, Booker Creek, or Eastside precincts, you were in District 50 – (but) you are now in District 56, so your representative has changed,” she says. “If you are in West Hillsborough, Cameron Park, Hillsborough, Grady Brown, Coles Store, or St. John precincts, you were in District 56 – (but) you are now part of District 50.”
Graig Meyer is the representative for House District 50; Verla Insko represents District 56.
Early voting begins on Thursday, April 19, and runs through Saturday, May 5, with polls open Monday through Saturday at five Orange County locations: the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough; the Seymour Center in northern Chapel Hill; Chapel of the Cross in downtown Chapel Hill; Carrboro Town Hall; and the Efland Ruritan Club. Same-day registration is available during the early voting period, but you need to bring a valid form of ID if you want to register and vote on the same day. (You don’t need to bring ID if you’re already registered.)
Visit the Orange County Board of Elections website for more information on this year’s primary election, including a full schedule of early voting hours at all five locations.
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