People throughout Wake County can continue to vote at 20 early-voting sites and register to vote at those sites, which include the Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue in Wake Forest and New Bethel Baptist Church on East Young Street in Rolesville.
Voting has been heavy in both local sites. Through Tuesday, 13,122 people had voted at the regional center, which has been open for 13 days, and 4,526 people have voted at New Bethel, which has only been open since last Thursday. Across Wake County, 198,332 people have voted at the early-voting sites. The county has 701,966 registered voters out of a population estimated at one million. The numbers are 264,630 registered Democrats, 188,216 registered Republicans, 4,156 registered Libertarians, and 244,964 registered as unaffiliated. There is a daily update about the early-voting totals after 8 p.m. each night on the Wake County Board of Elections website on www.wakegov.com.
The lines in Wake Forest have continued to be long at times. The sites are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. This last Saturday for voting the hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and there is no Sunday voting.
It is a long ballot and the General Assembly did away with the option of straight-ticket voting when it passed the 2013 voting law which has been mostly overturned by a federal appeals court. You must – or could – mark the ballot for 39 candidates and one question if you vote for those running unopposed. Without straight-ticket voting, it takes longer for everyone to vote.
Wake residents may vote at any of the early voting sites; they are not restricted to voting in their precinct. They may also register to vote during early voting by providing a proof of residence such as an N.C. driver’s license, photo ID from a government agency, private bank statement, property tax statement issued by a governmental agency or a government check such as Social Security. You do not have to show a photo ID to vote.
