After a flurry of litigation regarding the most recent round of redistricting, lawmakers in Raleigh voted to push the date for the primary election to May. It was originally scheduled for March.
Another proposed bill sought to move the date to June, but Gov. Roy Cooper last week vetoed the second date change. However, it’s possible further action could again change the primary election date.
For now, voters will be able to go to the polls in May to decide which candidates they prefer to go on to the general election in November. Registered voters can vote in the primary on a ballot of candidates for their affiliated political party. Unaffiliated voters can choose which party ballot to vote on.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary is coming up in April. The board of elections will also open one-stop, in-person early voting in late April. The deadline for civilians to request an absentee ballot is in early May.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections has not yet set a date for reopening the abbreviated filing period for candidates. The filing period opened in December, but closed after only a few days. Partisan candidates did not have the full, allotted time period to file to run for office.
Filing for nonpartisan races, such as seats on the Hoke County Board of Education, will not open until this summer.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections provided the following important dates for the primary election, as they currently stand.
March 28: The date by which the boards of elections must make available absentee ballots, barring any action by the State Board or the courts to postpone that date, under N.C.G.S. 163-227.10(a).
April 22: Civilian voter registration deadline for the 2022 statewide primary.
April 28: One-stop, in-person early voting period begins for the 2022 statewide primary, under N.C.G.S. 163-227.2(b).
May 10: Deadline for civilians to submit an absentee ballot request form for the 2022 statewide primary.
May 14: One-stop, in-person early voting period ends at 3 p.m. for the 2022 statewide primary, under N.C.G.S. 163-227.2(b).
May 17: Election Day for the 2022 statewide primary and civilian absentee ballot return deadline.
If there is a need for a runoff/second primary election, it can be held in July.
For information on getting registered to vote, or further elections information, contact the Hoke County Board of Elections at (910) 875-9062, or visit https://www.ncsbe.gov.
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