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It’s September and we are creeping up on the 2024 election. We have already had one candidate, Donald Trump, injured from a gunshot wound at a rally. President Biden has ended his re-election campaign less than four months before the election and was replaced by Vice President Harris as the candidate.

What happens next, nobody knows but something will. This article is not about the national election, it’s about local elections. More people vote when the presidential elections occur. Many people skip the off year and municipal elections. These elections are important and tend to have an immediate effect on the citizens.

The election is already heating up; campaigning has become noticeable and campaign signs are popping up.

In Beaufort County, there are no districts for the county commissioner races. There are seven county commissioners; four are elected in one cycle and three in the next cycle two years later. In each election cycle, the registered voter can only vote for one county commissioner candidate.

Four county commissioners will be elected this cycle. Four Republicans and two Democrats are running. From a party standpoint, there are Republicans running against Republicans and Democrats running against Democrats. The voter may vote for any of the six candidates he or she prefers. The top four vote getters are elected.

Due to the Democrats running only two candidates, at least two Republicans will be elected. The race for the other two commissioner seats will be competitive. In the commissioners’ race, it’s not only important to identify the party the voter prefers but also the candidate within the party.

The Beaufort County School Board is completely different. The county is broken into nine districts. Each determined by population based on the latest ten-year census. Candidates for each party and district are determined in the primary election.

Candidates are running in Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 this election cycle. Due to there being no Democratic candidate, the Republicans in district 7 and 9 are unopposed. In District 3, the two candidates are Republican and Unaffiliated.

Due to the seven-year real property revaluation the newly elected Board of Commissioners will be determining a new tax rate based on the total property valuation. This is important because the new tax rate could increase the amount of property tax revenue the county collects and the amount of tax a property owner pays.

The Board of Commissioners also determines the amounts of county current expense and capital funds Beaufort County Schools receive each year to fund education. Keeping up with the expenses to run a school district is becoming difficult. Keeping the budget and tax rate reasonable is an annual task for all commissioners to address.

The Beaufort County School Board is facing many issues in the future including school performance, construction of a new school in Washington to replace two old schools, and declining student population in the eastern parts of the county.

As a voter, it is important to become familiar with the issues that affect you as a resident of Beaufort County. Be careful what you hear or receive, it may not be true. Check things out. Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 17.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.