(The Center Square) – Ballots for Super Tuesday can begin going into the mail on Monday from respective county boards of elections as requested by registered North Carolina voters.
Fifty-one days later, polls will close on March 3 and all absentee ballots by mail will be due by the 7:30 p.m. deadline.
Primaries in North Carolina are on tap for both major parties in the bid for the U.S. Senate, eight incumbents to the U.S. House of Representatives, and 38 of 160 incumbents seeking reelection to the General Assembly.
No federal or statewide office drew more than the 14 candidates seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Thom Tillis. He said last year he would not seek a third term.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper of Raleigh leads the Democrats’ primary that includes Jacksonville’s Daryl Farrow, Concord’s Justin Dues, Rocky Point’s Robert Colon, Wilmington’s Marcus Williams and High Point’s Orrick Quick. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley of Gastonia leads the Republicans’ primary that includes Charlotte’s Margot Dupre, Durham’s Richard Dansie, Waxhaw’s Don Brown, Smithfield’s Elizabeth Temple, Cary’s Michele Morrow and Garner’s Thomas Johnson.
Libertarian Shannon Bray of Angier awaits in the general election. Next closest in volume among other congressional and General Assembly elections is the 10th Congressional District seat attracting six Democrats, two Republicans and a Libertarian. Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards is the incumbent seeking reelection.
Registered voters in the state this cycle will choose a U.S. senator, all 14 U.S. House representatives, one state Supreme Court judge and three appellate justices. All 170 seats in the General Assembly – 50 in the Senate, 120 in the House of Representatives – are also on the ballot. There are no statewide referenda.
Only presidential cycle years have longer ballots for the more than 7.6 million voters in the nation’s ninth largest state.
Among other key dates for the primaries on the way to setting the Nov. 3 general election ballot, voter registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Feb. 6; in-person early voting is Feb. 12-28; and the absentee ballot request deadline is 5 p.m. on Feb. 17.
Voters affiliated with a party – North Carolina recognizes Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green – in their registration can vote only for their respective party. Those unaffiliated can choose one political party ballot or a nonpartisan ballot if available; voters cannot vote in more than one party’s primary.
Run-offs, if necessary, would be May 12.
