Your right to vote is a precious privilege to be exercised

Your right to vote is a precious privilege to be exercised

Tuesday, May 6, is the primary election. Although it is not a presidential election, every elec­tion is important because elected officials make policies that affect people at all levels.

While space does not allow us to include backgrounds and statements from every local and statewide candidate, in this issue we are providing some informa­tion on three candidates: the two candidates vying Hyde County Sheriff. Two Democrats are run­ning for this office and no Repub­licans, which makes it a true race for this primary.

Although, there is not a candidate on the ballot for the school board, incumbent Dave Tolson told us he will run as a write-in candidate. We know of no one else who will be a write-in candidate for this important position. You will find state­ments from these three candi­dates on page 18.

Three county commissioner in­cumbents are running unopposed as are the county row officers, but these will not be on the ballot un­til November. We hope to include information on more candidates in the November issue before the general election.

There are several state and federal candidates on the May ballot. We regret that space does not allow us to include them, but we encourage you to do some homework on them. The website https://www.ncsbe.gov/webapps/ voter_search/default.aspxincludes information about them, espe­cially the statewide candidates since these folks also will be in positions to make policies that affect Ocracoke.

We at the Observer strongly support the precept that all eligi­ble citizens should exercise their right to vote. We also strongly believe that an informed citizenry will make the best decisions.

So, take the time to read the candidates statements which may help with your decision-making. And, yes. Be sure to vote on Tuesday, May 6, in the Commu­nity Center: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.