Kelly McLendon
The line to vote extends outside the doors at the Freedom Temple Church polling location on Nov. 4, 2014. Students reviewed final campaign materials about candidates that were handed out outside the doors.
As polls prepare to open for Tuesday’s municipal election, over 10,000 votes have already been cast, setting a record for early voting in an odd-numbered year.
According to the Wake County Board of Elections, a total of 10,144 votes were cast during the early-voting period, which is three times the early vote total from 2015.
931 of those votes came from the Method Road Community Center, the closest polling site to NC State’s campus. This location was open for a four-day period, with over a third of these votes cast on Friday.
Polls will open at 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m. Anyone who is in line at the time that polls close will be allowed to vote. Most students registered on campus will have Pullen Community Center, located at 408 Ashe Ave, as their polling place. To check your voting site, go to the NC State Board of Elections’ website.
During early voting in Wake County, 63.5 percent of voters were registered Democrats, 11.4 percent were registered Republicans and 24.9 percent registered as unaffiliated.
Raleigh and Cary are the only two Wake County municipalities that vote in October. If no mayoral candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election will be held on Nov. 7.
There are three candidates, Charles Francis (Democrat), Paul Fitts (Republican) and Nancy McFarlane (Independent), running for mayor. There are also seven candidates running for city council at-large seats.
More information about the candidates running for mayor and city council can be found in Technician’s voter guide.