Polk early vote totals 12.37 percent
Primary polling places are open today throughout the county for voters to choose which candidates will be on the ballot this November.
Early voting ended Saturday, May 5, with 1,831 or 12.37 percent of Polk County’s registered voters casting early votes. Currently, there are 14,798 registered voters in Polk County.
Polling places will be open today from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. at Polk’s seven locations. Tryon voters will go to the Harmon Field cabin, Saluda voters will go to the Saluda Fire Department, Coopers Gap voters will go to Sunny View Elementary School, White Oak voters will go to the Mill Spring Fire Department, Columbus 7 voters will go to Polk County High School, Columbus 8 voters will go to Isothermal Community College and Green Creek voters will go to the Green Creek Family Life Center (see chart above).
During early voting, which began April 19, 259 people voted at the Green Creek Family Life Center, 229 voted at the Mill Spring Fire Department and 1,343 people voted at the Polk County Board of Elections Office.
Out of the early voters, 996 cast Democratic ballots, 769 cast Republican ballots, 62 cast unaffiliated ballots and four cast Libertarian ballots.
The unaffiliated ballots that were counted came from voters registered as unaffiliated who chose to vote only on Amendment 1. All other unaffiliated voters chose to vote other party ballots and were counted in with party votes. Unaffiliated voters can choose the party with which they want to vote in a primary election.
Locally, voters will choose Democratic candidates for the Polk County Board of Commissioners. Three seats are open on the board. Candidates include Emily Bartlett (D), Ernie Giannini (D), Ritchie “Bubba” Greene (D), incumbent Renée McDermott (D), Rickie McFalls (D) and Russell Mierop (D). Voters will choose three candidates to run against Michael Gage (R), Keith Holbert (R) and incumbent Tom Pack (R) in November.
Polk County voters will also choose candidates for a variety of state and national races during the primary, including U.S. presidential candidates from the Republican and Libertarian parties, North Carolina governor and lieutenant governor and U.S. and state House and Senate representatives.
One Republican race is for the N.C. House of Representatives District 113 between Trudi Walend (R) and Chris Whitmire (R). The nominee will run against Polk County resident George Alley (D) in November.
Voters will also vote for or against a proposed constitutional marriage amendment (Amendment 1). The amendment would define marriage as between one man and one woman as the only legal domestic union in the state.