Tag Archive for: #2024election

Read The Latest Updates On N.C. House District 32 Contest

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Update 11-21-24 at 6 p.m. —

Follow WIZS.com for all the latest updates in the contest for N.C. House District 32.

The boards of elections in Vance and Granville counties are in the middle of an official recount, but chances are the outcome of the race will not be known for a couple of weeks since Frank Sossamon, currently trailing challenger Bryan Cohn by 233 votes, filed several protests with the local boards of elections.

The Republican incumbent Sossamon trailed Cohn by 185 votes after the Nov. 5 election; that gap increased to 233 votes after the county canvasses were completed on Nov. 15.

Since then, however, Sossamon invoked his right to call for a recount – which he did less than an hour before the 12 noon deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

However, he also filed three protests Wednesday, Nov. 20 with the Vance County Board of Elections, citing several voting irregularities that call into question ballots being counted for ineligible voters, including voters who cast early ballots but died before Election Day and voters who didn’t have the proper registration information.

Vance County Board of Elections Haley Rawles received from Sossamon’s attorney a list containing more than 250 names of possible ineligible voters based on the aforementioned irregularities.

Repeated attempts to get the same information from Granville County’s Board of Elections director have gone unanswered.

Vance County began its recount at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 20; information on the Granville County Board of Elections website indicated that its recount was suspended on Wednesday at 9 p.m. and was set to resume Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m.

As of this publication at 6 p.m. on Nov. 21, WIZS has received no additional information than what is listed above in this update.

TownTalk: Information On The Upcoming Election

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There are several ways to cast your vote in the upcoming November general election – all well before the first Tuesday in November.

In-person early voting begins next Thursday, Oct. 17, at two polling sites in Vance County – the former Eaton Johnson gym on Beckford Drive and Aycock Rec Center on Carey Chapel Road.

Early voting continues on weekdays through Nov. 1, and concludes with Saturday voting on Nov. 2, according to information from the Vance County Board of Elections. The polling sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each weekday through Nov. 1 and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.

County residents who still need to register to vote have a couple of options – if you want to vote on Election Day – Nov. 5 – you need to register by 5 p.m. this Friday – Oct. 11.

Tuesday, Oct. 29 is the deadline to request an absentee ballot from the board of elections. All absentee ballots must be received by the board of elections no later than 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Same day registration is available at the early-voting sites as well.

Elections officials remind voters that whether they vote in person early, by mail or on Election Day, poll workers will ask voters for a photo ID. For many voters, this will be a driver’s license, but there are other acceptable forms as well, including a free ID available from the county board of elections office or NCDMV. Voters without ID can still vote by filling out a form explaining why they can’t show ID, or by casting a provisional ballot and showing their ID at their county board of elections office by 5 p.m. Nov. 14, according to state board of elections officials.

In addition to the high-profile national and statewide races, Vance County voters have a couple of contested races that will be decided, including one seat on the board of county commissioners.

District 1 incumbent Democrat Carolyn Faines faces Republican challenger William Heitman; the other three commissioners – District 2’s Valencia Perry, District 5’s Leo Kelly, Jr. and District 6’s Yolanda Feimster are running unopposed.

Tune in to WIZS TownTalk at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9 to hear separate interviews with Faines and Heitman.

Three members of the Vance County Board of Education face no opposition in the upcoming election – District 3’s Dorothy Gooche and District 5’s Linda Cobb are running for re-election. District 4’s Ayana Lewis, appointed to the seat in Feb. 2024, seeks her first election to the board.

Incumbent State Rep. Frank Sossamon, a Republican, is seeking a second term for the District 32 seat that includes Vance and Granville counties. He faces opposition from Democratic challenger Bryan Cohn, a former Oxford Town Commissioner, and from Libertarian candidate Ryan Brown.

A portion of Vance County is in House District 7, which has Republican incumbent Matthew Winslow facing two challengers in the upcoming election – Democrat Jesse Goslen and Libertarian Party candidate Gavin Bell.

In the District 11 State Senate race, State Sen. Lisa Stone Barnes faces off against Democratic challenger James Mercer.

In a judicial race with local interest, incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson seeks to retain her seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals. She faces challenger Tom Murry in this race. WIZS will air recorded interviews with Thompson and Murry on Thursday’s TownTalk at 11 a.m.

When voters enter the voting booth with their ballots, poised to exercise their Constitutional right, there may be some down-ballot races that include candidates whose names don’t ring a bell.

The N.C. State Board of Elections website offers a wealth of information for registered voters, including a voter guide to judicial races and even a sample ballot for voters to preview.

Visit www.ncsbe.gov to access all this information and more.

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TownTalk: 2024 Election Information

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We’re three days into the New Year, which means that early voting for the March 5 primary elections is a mere 43 days away. Vance County voters will have two locations to cast their votes early, but neither of them is the Henderson Operations Center.

Early voters will go to either Aycock Rec Center, 307 Carey Chapel Rd. or the Eaton Johnson gymnasium, located at 500 N. Beckford Dr., according to information from Vance County elections officials.

“The decision for two early voting sites was made by the Board to increase accessibility considering this is a Presidential election year,” said Vance County Board of Elections Director Jennifer Cocklin, whenthere usually is a higher voter turnout.

Early voting begins on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, and continues through Saturday, Mar. 2, 2024, according to a notice issued by Vance County Board of Elections Chair James R. Baines.

In an email to WIZS News on Wednesday, City Manager Terrell Blackmon said the city reached an agreement with county officials to move the early voting site away from the city’s operations center for a simple, practical reason: “The City has run out of file and storage space in other parts of the building and we desperately need to utilize all available space in our facility for engineering and public works,” Blackmon said.

“There is no dissatisfaction by the City. We just need the space,” he added.

Blackmon went on to say that there is plenty of parking at the Eaton Johnson gymnasium to accommodate voters who come early to cast their ballots in the Mar. 5 primary.

The notices from the Board of Elections remind voters that they will be asked to show a photo ID when they come in to cast their ballot. If for some reason they don’t have one with them, they can still have their vote counted if they sign a form explaining why they are unable to show ID, or by casting a provisional ballot and returning to the Board of Elections office with their ID no later than 5 p.m. on Mar. 14, 2024.

Voters also can request a free photo ID from their local Board of Elections office. Find out more at https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id

Below are the dates and times for early voting at both locations:

 

Thursday, Feb. 15 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 16 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 19 – Friday, Feb. 23 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 26-Friday, Mar. 1 – 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 02-March 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters who have requested them beginning Jan. 19, 2024. Absentee ballots must be received by the county board of elections no later than 7:30 p.m. on March 5, 2024. A voter can fill out an absentee ballot request at https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/home, or by filling out a request form provided by the county Board of Elections office. The request must be received through the website or by the Vance County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. Feb. 27, 2024.

The voter registration deadline for this election is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Eligible individuals who are not registered by that deadline may register and vote at any early voting site during the early voting period. New registrants will be required to provide current documentation of their residence (for example, a government ID, other government document, or a paycheck, bank statement, or utility bill). Voters who wish to change party affiliation must do so by the Feb. 9 deadline.

In the primary election, voters will select nominees for a political party to move on to the general election on Nov. 5. Contests on the ballot include U.S. President, U.S. House, N.C. Governor and other Council of State Offices, N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice, N.C. Court of Appeals, N.C. House and Senate and county offices. In the primary, voters affiliated with a political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party, if their party has a primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose to vote in any party’s primary, but they may select only one party’s ballot.

To learn more, call the Vance County Board of Elections Office at 252.492.3730 or send an email to vance.boe@vancecounty.org.

 

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TownTalk: No Labels Looking To Be More Than A Spoiler In Presidential Race

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Two North Carolina men are playing key roles in the No Labels movement, a national effort to get a “Unity ticket” on the ballot for President and Vice President in next year’s elections.

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, a prominent attorney with ties to Granville County, joined former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory for a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.

They’re not ready to name candidates, and there’s a chance that it won’t happen, but No Labels is getting ready, just in case. No Labels is not “in it” to be a spoiler, they explained – they’re in it to win it.

McCrory said he is hopeful to be able to talk more about the process in early 2024, perhaps at or around Super Tuesday in March. “We firmly believe as a team that America deserves a better choice,” he said. “We’re working to have a better choice for them.”

McCrory and Chavis are two of several national co-chairs of No Labels, which was founded in 2010 by former Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. So far, a No Labels Unity ticket will be on 27 states’ ballots in November 2024.

And Chief Strategist Ryan Clancy said Tuesday the organization is on track to add states in the coming months.

“I’m very proud of my home state of North Carolina,” Chavis said in remarks during the briefing. Chavis said No Labels has made “significant” progress in Blue states, Red states and Purple states to gain ballot access. “North Carolina is getting things done,” he added.

Chavis and McCrory may seem unlikely collaborators whose allegiances have previously been with opposing parties, but Chavis said they’ve become friends. He praised McCrory for being a politician who is “not just reaching across the aisle (but) working across the aisle.”

McCrory said No Labels polling shows that 65 percent of Americans don’t want to vote for either Democratic or Republican frontrunner in the Presidential race.

Clancy said more voters are reporting that they’d consider voting for a Presidential ticket that included a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat – a blended ticket, which is the crux of the No Labels philosophy.

When asked in February 2022, polls showed 64 million would be willing to consider a blended ticket. More recent polls show that number has risen to 84 million. North Carolina numbers are similar – in March 2022, 32.1 percent of North Carolinians said they’d consider voting for a Unity ticket. In January, that number was 36.8 percent and now it’s at just over 40 percent, Clancy said.

Critics have suggested that a No Labels ticket would serve as a spoiler for the mainline parties’ candidates, but McCrory cited statistics that show 37 percent of N.C. voters are registered Independents, which means more people are registered outside the Republican and Democratic parties.

Clancy, the No Labels chief strategist, likened the No Labels effort for ballot access to people working to build a rocket launchpad. Candidates who comprise the Unity ticket are the ones who must “build the rocket ship to get to the White House.”

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TownTalk: Dingee Promises To Be Stingy As State Auditor

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Charles Dingee is running for N.C. Auditor in next year’s general election, and the slogan he’s come up is helpful for voters to know how to pronounce his name and remember the office he’s seeking: Dingee will be stingy with taxpayer dollars.

Dingee was a guest on TownTalk Monday and talked about his platform and areas of improvement with the state auditor’s office.

The election is more than a year away – November 2024 – but Dingee said it’s not too early to campaign.

“We are crisscrossing the state and educating voters,” Dingee said, “letting them know why I’m the best person to do this job.”

The state auditor is a member of the Council of State, a 10-member body comprised of elected officials that is part of the executive branch of state government.

Dingee said the first things he’d do as auditor is to seek funding code reform and to make the anonymous tip line public.

Citizens who suspect fraud or other wrongful acts within state government can call the tip line.

With more than 120 employees, the auditor’s office should be the vehicle that ensures transparency, he said, “responsible for making sure your money – your taxpayer money – gets where it’s supposed to be.”

Dingee has experience with the banking industry and with running his own business. Small business owners “know the value of a penny (and) make sure every penny is accounted for.”

His “strong conservative business background,” coupled with his Republican affiliation, are what make him the better candidate for the job currently held by five-time incumbent Beth Wood.

“Frankly, the current state auditor hasn’t been doing (the) job.”

In addition, he said he wants to see all larger state agencies undergo an annual – or at least biannual – audit. For example, the state Board of Elections hasn’t had an audit in 13 years, and that’s too long.

“I would like to hope that our bureaucratic officials …are doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he explained. “But if nobody’s looking, is everthing ok?”

“Government should work for the people – government should be letting people know this is what we’re doing. I’m going to make sure it happens when I’m your state auditor.”

Visit https://charlesdingee.com/ to learn more.

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TownTalk: Former NC Governor McCrory Talks Division In Politics

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In 2012, Pat McCrory was elected as governor of North Carolina. He served one term, having attained statewide recognition as mayor of Charlotte from 1995-2009. He lost a bid for a U.S. Senate seat in 2022.

No longer seeking election himself, McCrory in the last month has accepted a role as national co-chair of an organization called No Labels.

It’s not a political party and it won’t be endorsing candidates, but it has the potential to affect upcoming national elections, he explained, by offering voters a choice other than what’s on the traditional Democrat or Republican tickets.

McCrory was a guest on Tuesday’s TownTalk to discuss his association with No Labels and what it is working on at a national level.

No Labels, established in 2009, is oiling its political machine in advance of the upcoming 2024 Presidential elections.

McCrory cited recent polls that show voters are dissatisfied with the current frontrunners for President. And if Super Tuesday – the day many states hold primaries – produces a Trump-Biden race, then No Labels could jump into the race with its own candidates.

“No Labels is talking about running a bipartisan third-party option,” McCrory said. “A Republican and Democrat on the ticket.”

The main push now, he said, is getting on states’ ballots now. They have been added in five or six states, but the goal is 20 by December and, ultimately, all 50 states. “We hope to be in North Carolina in a short period of time,” he noted.

The group is expected to release a more detailed agenda in July with additional information about a variety of topics it will get behind.

He said No Labels seeks to provide a common-sense approach to address challenges that the mainline parties find little on which to compromise.

“I’m a conservative who believes the more competition, the better.” Divisions and failure to find compromise among political parties only create chaos, he said.

“I’m in favor of more choice,” McCrory said. And if No Labels does come up with a President/Vice President team as an alternative for voters, dissatisfied with the options from traditional parties, make no mistake: “It’ll be to win, not to be a spoiler.”

Read more at https://www.nolabels.org/ and listen to the complete interview with McCrory just below.

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