In less than a month, voters in Beaufort County and throughout eastern North Carolina will make an important decision — who will represent North Carolina’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives?

While the Sept. 10 Election Day is still a few weeks away, a few key dates are coming up in the election, including a voter registration deadline this Friday. In order to vote on Election Day, those who have not already done so must register by Friday afternoon.

For those who miss that opportunity, however, there will still be a chance to register and vote on the same day during one-stop voting, which kicks off next Wednesday at the Beaufort County Board of Elections. One stop voting will take place every weekday at the BOE, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Sept. 6. The office will be closed on Sept. 2 for Labor Day.

For voters in the eastern part of the county, early voting sites will be open at the Aurora Community Center and John A. Wilkinson Center in Belhaven from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 4, 5 and 6.

On Sept. 10, voting sites in all 21 Beaufort County precincts will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. There will be no voting at the Beaufort County Board of Elections that day.

On the ballot, voters will have four names to choose from: Republican Greg Murphy, Democrat Allen Thomas, Constitution Party Candidate Greg Holt and Libertarian Tim Harris.

Each candidate hopes to fill the Congressional seat left vacant by the death of long-time Representative Walter B. Jones Jr. in February. Jones Jr., who served 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, followed in the footsteps of his father, Walter B. Jones Sr., who also represented eastern North Carolina. The winner of the election will serve out the remainder of Jones’ term, which expires next year.

As of this past Saturday, the third Congressional district has been without representation in the U.S. House for six months.