Early voting for primary elections in Greensboro and Jamestown begins Thursday and will run through Oct. 4.
The primary day will be Oct. 7 with the general election on Nov. 4.
Here are few things to keep in mind for early voting during the primaries.
Who can vote?
The only jurisdictions with primaries this year are Greensboro and Jamestown.
In Greensboro, there are primaries for seven of the nine seats on the Greensboro City Council. These include races for mayor, District 2, District 3 and District 4 as well as three at-large seats. There are contested races for the District 1 and District 5 seats but no primaries since only two candidates are running in those races.
All Greensboro residents will be eligible to vote in the mayoral and at-large primaries. District races are restricted to residents within those districts. Voters can check their council districts by visiting greensboro-nc.gov/government/city-council and clicking on the “Find which City Council District You’re In” link.
The News & Record has published questionnaire responses from candidates which are available at Greensboro.com.
In Jamestown, there will be an at-large primary in which seven candidates are running for two council seats. There is also a mayor’s race.
Residents who are not already registered to vote may register before they vote during early voting. Voters using same-day registration will be required to show documentation, such as a driver’s license or utility bill, listing the voter’s current address.
All voters will be required to show photo ID or fill out an exception form.
Where do I vote?
There will be a total of four sites open during the early voting period, but for the first week, the only open site will be at the old Guilford County Courthouse at 301 W. Market St.
Voters will enter the courthouse on the side facing the plaza where the new courthouse and the Melvin Municipal Office Building are located.
The old courthouse will be open for voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for weekdays during the early voting period. The only weekend day of voting at the old courthouse will be the final day, in which polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Beginning Sept. 25, three additional sites will open:
• Bur-Mil Park Clubhouse, 5834 Bur-Mill Club Road, Greensboro
• Greensboro Complex Special Events Center, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro
• Jamestown Town Hall, 301 E. Main St., Jamestown
These sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 27-28 and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the final day of early voting.
Voters may vote at any of the four sites regardless of where they live.
The logistics of this year’s early voting prompted criticism from Greensboro Councilwoman Sharon Hightower, who said at Tuesday’s council meeting that “the vote is being suppressed because there are only four early voting sites.”
She also said the old courthouse site presented challenges for voters.
“You’ve got to park and walk a long way, people being very disenfranchised, for people to go vote at downtown,” Hightower said.
She asked city staff if there was a way to reserve spaces between South Elm and Greene streets for voting.
Councilman Hugh Holston also asked if the city could validate parking at parking decks to allow voters to park for free.
City Manager Trey Davis said the city did have some options for improving transportation for voters, but he also said he wanted to make sure they coordinated with the elections office.
In an email Wednesday afternoon, Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said “there is some discussion on a few things” regarding parking arrangements. He also pointed out that parking decks in downtown are free for the first hour.
kevin.griffin@greensboro.com
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