LUMBERTON — Early voting for the June 7 special congressional primary kicks off Thursday, with candidates for Congress on the Republican ticket in Robeson County and judgeships on ballots for both parties.
For Robeson County voters, ballots can be cast only at the Robeson County Board of Elections office at 800 N. Walnut St. in Lumberton. Beginning Thursday, the polls will be open weekdays, except Monday, which is Memorial Day, through June 3 and on June 4.
Robeson County is no longer in the 8th and 7th Congressional Districts, which are currently represented by Republicans Richard Hudson, of Concord, and David Rouzer, of Johnston County, respectively. The county is now in the 9th District currently represented by Robert Pittenger, a Republican from Charlotte.
Robeson County was placed in the the 9th District — which includes a portion of Mecklenburg ,Union, Anson, Richmond and Scotland counties, as well as parts of Cumberland and Bladen counties — after federal judges ruled earlier this year that the state’s 1st and 12th congressional districts were racially gerrymandered. State lawmakers in February were ordered to re-draw congressional voting districts after the March 15 primary ballots had already been printed.
Robeson County Republicans have three choices for their party’s 9th District nominee for the November General Election, including incumbent Pittenger. Pittenger will face Mark Harris, the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charlotte, and Todd Johnson, a former Union County commissioner and insurance agent.
Democratic candidate Christian Cano, a Charlotte businessman, has no primary opponent, so Robeson Democrats have no congressional candidates to vote for in the primary. Cano will face-off against the winner of the June 7 Republican primary in November.
All ballots will include the non-partisan race for an associate justice seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Candidates include: Robert H. “Bob” Edmunds, the incumbent; Michael R. “Mike” Morgan; Daniel Robertson; and Sabra Jean Faires.
Unaffiliated voters can also vote in the primary. They can choose whether to cast a Democrat or Republican ballot. Currently, Robeson County has 51,086 registered Democrats, 9,160 registered Republicans, and 13,902 registered unaffiliated voters.
According to election officials, most voters will be asked to present an acceptable photo ID when they come to the polls. Exceptions to the photo ID regulation include voters who have a “reasonable impediment” to obtaining an acceptable ID, those with a religious objection to being photographed, or those who are victims of a natural disaster.
Acceptable forms of photo ID include a North Carolina driver’s license or state Division of Motor Vehicles issued ID card; U.S. passport or passport card; military ID card or veterans affairs ID card; and certain tribal enrollment cards with expiration dates, including for the Lumbee Tribe.
Phil Stephens, Robeson County’s GOP leader, said that because there are no high profile races on the primary ballots, he expects “real low” participation from both Democrats and Republicans in the primary.
“All of the Republican candidates are very solid, but they don’t have much name recognition in the eastern part of the district,” Stephens said.
Stephens added, however, that local Republicans could play an important role in who becomes the party’s nominee for the District 9 seat in November.
“All of the candidates are from the western part of the district so they are going to split the vote in the west,” he said. “In the eastern part of the district, we could actually determine who wins.”
Polls will be open weekdays from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., and on June 4, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Voters can still request and cast absentee ballots. Ballots must be requested by Tuesday and returned to the Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on June 6.
