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By Peter Vankevich
North Carolina is among the 14 states holding a general election primary Tuesday, March 3. Called “Super Tuesday,” it is when the greatest number of states hold primary elections. More delegates to the presidential nominating conventions can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day.
On Ocracoke, voting will be from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, 822 Irvin Garrish Highway.
Early “One-Stop” voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, and Friday, Feb. 21, also in the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department.
Early “One-Stop” voting on the mainland continues from 8 am. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Feb. 29 at the Elections Office, Hyde County Public Safety Building,1223 Main St. in Swan Quarter.
No voter ID is required in this election, and the deadline to register to vote in the primary election has passed.
Unaffiliated voters may vote by choosing the partisan ballot of their choice, but voters who are affiliated with a political party may vote only their party’s ballot.
If an office has only one candidate running, their name will not be on the primary ballot but will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
The Republican and Democrat ballots have several offices at the state and federal level, including those running for president. For the Democrats, 15 candidates will be on the ballot for president. Some have dropped out since the names were finalized.
According to news sources, the following of the 15 on the ballot have dropped out: Deval Patrick, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang, Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, John K. Delaney.
The viable Democratic candidates on the ballot are Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Joseph R. Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar.
For the Republicans, Joe Walsh and Bill Weld are running against President Donald J. Trump.
Libertarian party members in Hyde County will choose one candidate out of 16 on the presidential ballot.
The Constitution Party has only Don Blankenship and Charles Kraut on the presidential ballot and the Green Party has Howie Hawkins. Ocracoke does not have any registered voters in these two parties.
All ballots include a choice of “No Preference” for president. According to Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, a government watchdog group, this addition of “no preference” was added at the behest of the parties to help their delegates decide at their conventions.
For the N.C. State House District 6, which includes Ocracoke, Rob Rollason will challenge incumbent Bobby Hanig for the Republicans.
At the county level, Barbara Gibbs, Marsha Gibbs and Thomas Midgette will be on the Democrat ballot for the Lake Landing Township county commissioner office.
For more information on North Carolina elections, including bios on the many candidates, visit www.ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina.
Hyde County has a total of 3,054 registered voters: 1529 Democrats, 529 Republicans, 16 Libertarians, one Green party and 936 unaffiliated voters.
Ocracoke has a total of 776 registered voters: 375 Democrats, 108 Republicans, seven Libertarians and 286 unaffiliated voters.
To vote absentee by mail, voters must complete a 2020 State Absentee Ballot Request Form. The form must be received by the voter’s county board of elections by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25. Voters who submit a valid request will receive a ballot from their county board of elections. The materials will include detailed instructions on how to complete and return the ballot.
For more information regarding any voting procedures and updating your voting information, contact the Hyde County Elections Office, 252-926-4194, or by email vwilliams@hydecountync.gov. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Below are sample ballots for the political parties for Hyde County voters:
