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Rhett Butler/The Daily Reflector
Dramora Foskey, left, discusses a voter guide given to her by Ronald Dunbar, right, before voting at the Pitt County Office Complex on Thursday.

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Early voters cast ballots at the County Office Building on Thursday.

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Democrats dominate early voting

By Ginger Livingston
The Daily Reflector

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Nearly 2,300 Pitt County voters had cast ballots by 5 p.m. Thursday, the first day of early voting, officials said.

The numbers came from the three early voting locations that operated from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., said Joanne Robertson with the Pitt County Board of Elections. The results from the two sites that operated from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weren’t available, she said.

“We’ve done in one day what we’ve done the entire time of some primaries,” Elections Director Dave Davis said.

Davis said lines formed outside of each of the five polling places before the doors opened.

“I was at Jaycee Park when it opened (at 11 a.m.) and we had a line at the door and they were ready to roll,” he said. “We were nonstop for the first hours.”

That location had 200 voters cast ballots within the first two hours of operations.

More than half the people casting ballots Thursday were registered Democrats, according to the voter data. Democrats cast 1,570 votes, Republicans 445 and unaffiliated voters cast 279 votes, Robertson said.

Shortly before noon, 500 people had cast ballots at the Community Schools Building on County Home Road. Chief Judge Carolyn Williams said the turnout and fast-moving line didn’t surprise her.

“There is so much interest in this election,” she said. “I heard quite a few people say they came in to beat the rush and they found it was busier than they thought.”

Verna Barr and her daughter Vanesssa Stanley said Thursday was a good day to vote.

“I just happened to be off today so I decided to go ahead and do it,” Barr said. “I just wanted to get ahead of the crowd.” Her daughter said she remembered standing in line for about 90 minutes during the 2004 presidential election and didn’t want to do that again.

“I knew who I was going to vote for, so why wait?” Stanley said. “I believe this election could be worse because I think everyone is going to come out for this one.”

Libby Hancock was dropping her trash off at the collection site on County Home Road, saw the stand of candidate signs, and drove across the road to cast her vote.

“I think we should call all the TV stations, tell them where we live and tell them we voted so they can send out the right signal and no more Democrats and Republicans,” she said.

More than 200 had voted at the County Office Building on West Fifth Street by 11 a.m., said Myrtle Davenport, chief judge at that site.

Although the small room was crowded, the line moved quickly. A number of the early voters at the site were county employees taking advantage of its close proximity.

A caravan of NAACP members also carpooled to the site from Thomas Foreman Park about 9 a.m.

Ronald Dunbar of the NAACP said the group stopped in Moyewood neighborhood to invite residents to vote, but no one took them up on the offer. He said organizers believe they got the word out, nevertheless.

“We actually had one person on a bicycle who was coming through here (the voting site parking lot) and we asked if he wanted to vote and he did,” said Dunbar, who also was working with the nonpartisan voting rights groups Democracy North Carolina and getTraction.org to encourage people to cast votes in all the political races, not just the presidential contest.

Early voting sites at the Pitt County Community Schools Building on County Home Road; the Pitt County Agricultural Center on Government Circle, off Old Creek Road; and behind the Pitt County office building on West Fifth Street are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Early voting sites at the Jaycee Park building on Cedar Lane and the Winterville Fire Station community room on Railroad Street, Winterville, are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. All five sites will operate from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

A sixth station will open at Newman Catholic Student Center Sanctuary near East Carolina University beginning Oct. 24.

The sites also allow people to register before they vote. People who need to register must bring a driver’s license or photo identification card or a document that has a current address such as a utility bill.

People can register and vote the same day during the early voting period. However, if a person didn’t register before Oct. 10 they won’t be able to vote during the Nov. 4 general election. Early voting ends Nov. 1.

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Registered Democrat

10/18/2008 05:37:58 PM

I am a registered Democrat, but I didn't vote for Obama. He doesn't have enough experience. He even admitted that in his own book. Plus, I have a hard time believing he isn't Muslim. He even said "my Muslim faith" in a recent interview. He also has poor judgement when it comes to choosing the people he assoicates with.

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