One-stop voting closes Saturday, turnout poised to exceed 2014

Published 4:16 pm Thursday, November 1, 2018

In less than a week, Beaufort County residents will have selected their new elected officials. In races ranging from the General Assembly and District Court Judge to the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners and Beaufort County Sheriff, voters have less than a week to ensure their voices are heard.

Today and tomorrow mark the last days of one-stop voting in Beaufort County. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow, voters have their last opportunity to register and vote on the same day at four locations throughout the county — the Beaufort County Board of Elections, the Wilkinson Center in Belhaven, the Aurora Community Building and the Chocowinity Fire Department.

For area residents who are not currently registered to vote, these two days are the last opportunity to vote in the 2018 election. The deadline to register to vote on Election Day was Oct. 15.

As of Oct. 31, 7,990 Beaufort County residents, out of 33,535 registered voters, had cast their ballots during one-stop voting. At the end of one-stop voting in 2016, 14,445 voters had taken advantage of one-stop voting. During the last mid-term election in 2014, 8,271 individuals participated in one-stop voting.

“We still haven’t met 2014 numbers, but I am sure we will get there with three more days of voting,” Board of Elections Director Kellie Hopkins wrote in an email.

Voting will not be available at any location on Sunday or Monday, and those who have not voted by 1 p.m. Saturday must vote at their polling place on Election Day.

Polling places throughout Beaufort County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The only significant change in polling place location is for residents of Washington Park, who will vote at Faith Free Will Baptist Church, at 641 River Road. The change in location is due to flooding at the Washington Park Municipal Building, where voting normally takes place.

To check your polling place or registration status, visit vt.ncsbe.gov, see your voter registration card or call the BOE at 252-946-2321.

For more full election night coverage in Beaufort County, visit www.thewashingtondailynews.com, or follow the Daily News on Facebook or Twitter. Unofficial election results will be posted online at www.thewashingtondailynews.com on Tuesday evening after all precincts have reported.

Beaufort County polling places are as follows:

Aurora — Aurora Community Building, 442 Third St., Aurora

Beaver Dam — Grange Building, 4341 Terrapin Track Road, Washington

Belhaven — John A. Wilkinson Center, 144 W. Main St., Belhaven

Blounts Creek — Blounts Creek Fire Department, 13965, N.C. Highway 33 E., Blounts Creek

Chocowinity — Chocowinity Fire Department, 512 N.C. Highway 33 E., Chocowinity

Edward — Edward Christian Church, 23 S. Academy St., Edward

Gilead — Chocowinity Fire Department, 512 N.C. Highway 33 E., Chocowinity

Hunters Bridge — Free Union Free Will Baptist Church, 4961 Free Union Church Road, Pinetown

North Creek — Bethany United Methodist Church, 2766 South Savannah Road, Belhaven

Old Ford — Old Ford Ruritan Building, 48 N.C. Highway 171, Washington

Pantego — Pantego Municipal Building, 142 Swamp Road, Pantego

Pinetown — Pinetown Fire Department, 7262 North Boyd Road, Pinetown

River Road — Bunyan Ruritan Building, 60 Glen Haven Road, Washington

Surry-Bath — Bath Ruritan Building, 504 Carteret St., Bath

Tranters Creek — Clarks Neck Fire Department, 3797 Wharton Station Road, Washington

Washington First Ward — First Christian Church, 307 E. Third St., Washington

Washington Second Ward — Washington Fire Department, 410 N. Market St., Washington

Washington Third Ward — Beaufort County Boys and Girls Club, 1089 Bridge St., Washington

Washington Fourth Ward — Seventh Street Recreation Center, 231 E. Seventh St., Washington

Washington Park — Faith Free Will Baptist Church, 641 River Road, Washington (2018 only)

Woodards Pond — Bunyan Fire Department, 8264 Broad Creek Road, Washington