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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Election Day Brings Warm Weather, Clear Skies, and Steady Voter Traffic

Cars pack the parking lot at Belville Elementary School on Election Day, 2014.

North Carolina’s Board of Elections reported a larger-than-expected Early Voting turnout this election cycle.  But those high numbers didn’t appear to stem the tide of voters at Belville Elementary School in Brunswick County this Election Day. 

On a clear afternoon with temperatures nearing 70 degrees, cars packed the parking lot at Belville Elementary. 

Rich Leary says he arrived at 6:30 in the morning to hand out campaign literature.  Even at that hour, he says, voter traffic was steady. 

"And then at around 11 o’clock, we started to get, I think, the lunch crowd and it got quite heavy.  In fact, it was out and across the road here – all the way up into the bushes – probably about an hour wait or so."

That didn’t deter Jeremy Middlesworth.  He says he voted against the Constitutional Amendment on the ballot that would give people charged with a felony the option to waive a jury trial in favor of a trial by judge.   And, he says, he tries to vote in every election. 

"It’s important to me to vote ‘cause I think the people that reflect – you know – put a lot of the impact in your life are the people that you hire once a year or once every other year.  I hope there’s a lot of change (laughter).  That’s what we’re looking for."

The polls are open until 7:30 this evening. 

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.