Wake, Cary voters head to polls again Tuesday. Here’s what the candidates are saying.
There is one more opportunity this week to cast a ballot in the Democratic primary for Wake County sheriff and for two seats on the Cary Town Council.
More than 200 polling sites will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wake and Chatham counties for all eligible voters.
Since early voting began for the runoff elections, more than 8,000 residents have voted, according to the county Board of Elections. Currently, about 625,000 people are eligible to vote in this election.
In Wake County, voters will select one Democratic candidate for sheriff. The winner of the runoff between Willie Rowe and incumbent Sheriff Gerald Baker will face Republican Donnie Harrison, the former sheriff who already won his party’s primary.
Rowe finished ahead of Baker in May, taking just under 30% of the votes to Baker’s 24%, but that was not enough to avoid a runoff.
Cary Town Council
In the Cary runoffs, voters will fill two Town Council seats after the two first-place finishers in the non-partisan May election failed to secure 50% of the vote.
Incumbent Jack Smith is running against Renee Miller in District C.
In the at-large runoff, Ken George, who served on the council seven years ago, will go up against Carissa Johnson, who finished ahead of George and incumbent Ed Yerha in May.
With low turnout expected, the focus for candidates was getting people to come out again to support them.
Gone old school
“We’ve gone old school,” Johnson said in an interview with The News & Observer. “With door-to-door, phone calls, over 5,000 handwritten postcards, letters. I’m quite literally calling people on my cell phone and calling up voters who voted in May and asking them to please come out one more time.”
Johnson, a registered Democrat, praised her volunteers who have been out in the heatwave to inform new voters and encourage others to vote again.
“I think people are feeling very unsettled by a lot of the direction we’re going in,. So I think they’re looking for a way to get involved and be part of something that they see as a solution,” Johnson said.
One of her campaign points was focused on environmental changes.
“I think that is one of the things that resonated the most with residents,” Johnson said. “And I think that’s one of the things that gets them volunteering.”
George said he has support from Republicans and others who agree with his plans for affordable housing.
“You just work to get people out, but you just don’t have any idea if it’s going to be more than the other person,” he said. “It’s interesting that if there’s one overriding response at doors … it’s, ‘Oh, there’s an election on July 26?’”
He said many people in Cary have voted early or plan to vote but said his team has worked to try and reach as many people unaware of the second primaries.
There are more than 119,000 eligible voters in the town, according to the state board of elections.
For the at-large seat, all eligible voters within the Cary town limits may cast ballots. For District C, only voters who live within that area can vote for the seat.
Town issues
Smith has served Cary’s District C since 2017 and was first elected to the Town Council in 1989.
He plans to continue his focus on strengthening public safety in Cary.
“People are very anxious about safety and without safety, you don’t have quality of life,” Smith said in an interview. “The first thing, if I’m honored to serve again, is that we leave no stone left unturned with our safety initiatives.”
Even though the Cary election is nonpartisan, many voters have focused on the candidates’ parties. Smith, who is registered unaffiliated, said he thinks holding the election this year has complicated matters.
“Seven of my races have been unaffiliated and it’s never been an issue,” he said. “Personally, I do believe when it’s a non-partisan year, you tend to get a lower turnout but it’s more informed. The passion in a partisan year is to bring national issues to the forefront, but they don’t always help Cary.”
Who is eligible to vote in Wake County for sheriff?
In the county sheriff’s runoff, only registered Democrats or unaffiliated voters can cast a ballot Tuesday.
Other eligible voters include:
- Voters registered unaffiliated and did not vote in the May primary
- Voters registered unaffiliated and did not vote on the Republican ballot in the May primary
- Voters registered unaffiliated and did not vote the nonpartisan ballot in the May primary
Where can I vote?
Cary voters who live in Chatham County are also eligible to vote in the election. However, instead of voting at the polling site at the Chatham County Board of Elections office in Pittsboro, those voters need to vote at their assigned precinct, according to Gary Sims, a spokesperson for the Wake County Board of Elections.
Sims said, because there are 208 polling sites across Wake County this year, he expects most ballots to be counted as late as 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Unofficial results can be found on the Wake County Board of Elections website after the polls close at 7:30 p.m.
Polling site information, sample ballots, and voter status can be found on the State Board of Elections website, www.ncsbe.gov.
This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 2:48 PM.