Early voting for the Republican second primary in the Third Congressional District ends Friday, July 5.

The second primary is between Republicans Greg Murphy and Joan Perry, and election day will be Tuesday, July 9, with polls open in all precincts that day.

The special election is necessary because of the vacancy created by the death of Congressman Walter Jones on Feb. 10.

Tyrrell County Republicans may vote in person in the board of elections office in the courthouse in Columbia between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, from now through July 5 (except for the July 4 holiday).

All registered Republicans are eligible to vote in the second primary.

Unaffiliated voters who did not vote in either the Democratic or Libertarian primary on April 30 also are eligible.

At midday on Monday (June 24) 15 electors, both Republicans and unaffiliated individuals, had voted early in Tyrrell County.

There are 2,194 registered voters in Tyrrell County, of which 342 are Republicans and 653 are unaffiliated, according to Debbie Swain, county elections director. In the first Congressional primary in April, 186 Republicans went to the polls.

Swain estimates the two primaries and the general election for Congressman will cost Tyrrell County $46,000.

The Third District includes 17 eastern counties from the Camp Lejeune area to the Virginia border.

The winner of the Murphy-Perry contest will face Constitution Party candidate Greg Holt, Democrat Allen Thomas, and Libertarian Tim Harris in the general election on Tuesday, September 10.

Voters in all Third District counties can find their early voting places and hours at https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/One-Stop_Early_Voting/2019/One-Stop%20Site%20List_CD3_SecondPrimary_2019.pdf