Early Voting Begins In North Carolina For Upcoming Primary

Early voting starts Thursday in North Carolina for the March 15 primary, and it's still not too late to register to vote.

Same-day voter registration was eliminated as part of the controversial elections law overhaul in 2013 but it has yet to impact early voting. That's because a federal court has blocked some of the provisions from going into effect until a lawsuit challenging the legislation is decided.

Charlie Collicutt is director of the Guilford County Board of Elections. He says so far, more than 6,700 new registrations have been logged by his staff since January.

“Early voting is a great place to come if you're not quite sure about your address within your county or if you're not sure if you are registered at all,” says Collicutt. “At this time, you can do a same-day registration where you can come in and register to vote, but this only during early voting.”

Early voting has become more popular, accounting for 23 percent of votes cast in the 2012 primary.

The early voting period in North Carolina runs through March 12.

One of the big issues on the primary ballot is a $2 billion statewide bond referendum. Voters will also cast primary ballots for president, governor, and a host of local races on March 15. 

A second primary will be held on June 7 for U.S. House of Representatives races only.

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