Primary early voting begins Thursday at Senior Center only
The 2022 in-person voting process for the May 17 primary election begins Thursday, April 28, 2022, and ends Saturday, May 14.
In Alexander County, the early primary voting will take place only at the Alexander Senior Center in Taylorsville at 730 7th Street SW (near Alexander Central High School).
Early voting opens April 28 and continues through May 14 with weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturdays, April 30, May 7, and May 14 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Republicans will be selecting candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives in District 10, NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 5, NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 9, NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 11, NC State Senate District 36, and an Alexander County Commission seat (unexpired term of the late Dr. Jeff Peal) ending in 2024.
Democrats will be choosing their nominee for U.S. Senate and for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 10.
Before redistricting following the 2020 Census, Alexander County was in the 5th Congressional District with Virginia Foxx (R) as the incumbent and in the 42nd NC Senate District (Alexander and Catawba counties) with Dean Proctor (R) the incumbent.
Alexander County is now in the 10th U.S. Congressional District (Patrick McHenry (R) incumbent) and in the 36th NC State Senate District (Wilkes, Surry, Yadkin, and Alexander counties). No incumbent state senator lives in the new 36th district.
Election officials note that Early Voting allows you to vote on convenient days and during non-working hours.
Individuals who missed the regular voter registration deadline may register and vote at the same time during the early voting period. During the early voting period, registered voters may update their name or address, but may not change their party affiliation.
To register to vote, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age, or will be 18 on or before November 8, 2022. You must not be actively on probation or parole for a felony conviction. You must reside in this county and have lived at your voting residence for at least 30 days.
In addition, you will need to provide proof of voting residence by presenting any of the following valid documents that show your current name and current residence address: NC Driver’s license, photo ID from a government agency, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.
Alexander County Board of Elections Director Patrick Wike said that citizens may wonder why the Alexander Senior Center is the only site for early voting this year, because in previous primary elections there were three early voting sites. The Board of Elections office operated a full schedule (12 weekdays and one Saturday) while the two additional sites operated a limited schedule. The two additional sites operated six days during the early voting period — the last five weekdays (10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and the last Saturday (8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.).
In 2018 and 2019, Wike said the NC General Assembly enacted legislation that placed requirements on early voting sites. If counties open additional early voting sites, Session Laws 2018-112 and 2019-239 now require those sites to be open a minimum of 12 weekdays (8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and one Saturday (8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).
Wike said that mid-term primary elections typically have lower voter turnout. For example, the 2018 primary had an 8.87% voter turnout while the 2014 primary had a 15.69% voter turnout.
“Opening three early sites to comply with the state-mandated hours during an anticipated lower turnout election is not practical,” Wike stated.
He emphasized that all three early voting sites will be open for the upcoming general election. The early voting period for the general election is October 20 through November 5.
