Tuesday is election day in Bladen County and across the nation as voters select among candidates for president, congress, governors, state legislatures and county boards.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at 17 polling places in Bladen County and close at 7:30 p.m. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. Photo ID is required in order to vote.
The Bladen County Board of Elections announced Monday that results will be announced after polls have closed inside Superior Courtroom of the Bladen County Courthouse. Doors will open at 7 p.m.
Bladen Online also plans to post election results on its home page Tuesday night.
More than half of the 23,481 registered voters in Bladen County cast ballots during the two-week early voting period that ended Saturday afternoon, according to the State Board of Elections. There were 12, 641 early votes (53.8%) cast in Bladen. Also received by mail to the Bladen Board of Elections have been 328 civilian ballots, 14 military ballots and 9 overseas ballots for a total of 12,992 ballots cast (55.35%).
Statewide, more than 4.2 million ballots were coast in in-person early voting, topping the previous early voting record of more than 3.6 million ballots in 2020, according to the State Board of Elections. When including absentee voting, there have been 4,465,548 votes cast, which is 57% of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters.
Here are polling sites in Bladen County proved by the Board of Elections:
• Abbotts – Building, 105 Harold Drive, Bladenboro
• Bethel – Dublin Community Center, 120 Second Street, Dublin
• Bladenboro 1 – Historical Building, 818 South Main Street, Bladenboro
• Bladenboro 2 – Old Spaulding Monroe School, 508 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Bladenboro
• Brown Marsh – Town Hall, 81 North Elm Street, Clarkton
• Carvers Creek – East Arcadia School, 21451 NC 87 East, Riegelwood
• Central – Jones Lake State Park, 4117 NC 242 North, Elizabethtown
• Colly – White Lake Fire Department, 1861 White Lake Drive, White Lake
• Cypress Creek – Hickory Grove Fire Department, 132 NC 210 West, Garland
• Elizabethtown 1 – National Guard Armory, 1001 West Swanzy Street, Elizabethtown
• Elizabethtown 2 – Powell-Melvin Ag Service Center, 450 Smith Circle, Elizabethtown
• Frenches Creek – Kelly Fire Department, 18628 NC 53 East, Kelly
• Hollow – Rescue Squad Building, 14871 NC 87 West, Tar Heel
• Lake Creek – Bay Tree Fire Department, 12717 NC 41 East, Harrells
• Turnbull – Ammon Community Building, 120 Ammon Community Center Road, Garland
• Whites Creek – Lisbon Fire Department, 2585 White Plains Church Road, Clarkton
• White Oak – Ruritan Building, 9579 NC 53 West, White Oak
Contested local races in Bladen County include:
• County Commissioner (3 at-large seats): Mark Gillespie (D), David R. Gooden (R), Ray Britt (R) and G. Michael Cogdell (D)
• Board of Education District 3 (1 seat): Kimbrie Esters (D) and Chris Clark (U)
Also on the ballot is a state Constitutional amendment “to provide that only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.” Voters can vote either “for” or “against” the amendment.