Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Primary will be held at all precincts Tuesday

COLUMBUS—Polk County voters have until this Saturday to cast their vote for the Primary Election early. 

Early voting began on Feb. 13 and will end Saturday, Feb. 29. 

As of Tuesday morning, Polk County had 879 total voters early. Of the early votes, 441 voted on the republican ballot, 435 voted on the democrat ballot and three voted on the green party ballot, according to the Polk County Board of Elections. 

Early votes can be done this week at the Polk County Board of Elections Office, located on the second floor of the Womack building in Columbus. Through Friday, early voting can be done from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. 

Primary election day in North Carolina is Tuesday, March 3, when all Polk County precincts will be open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 

No voter identification will be needed to vote during the primary, as a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo identification requirement from taking effect. 

While the deadline to register to vote was over on Feb. 7, residents can still register to vote if they vote early. Early voting for both the primary and general election allows for people to register on the same day as they vote early. Registration cannot be done on Election Day, either for the primary on March 3 or the general election on Nov. 3. 

February 25 was the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail and March 3 at 5 p.m. is the deadline to return absentee ballots to the county elections office. 

Sample ballots for each party as well as election information can be found on the board of elections website, at polknc.org. 

Voters will vote for the March 3 primary in their registered party and if registered unaffiliated, may choose to vote republican, democrat or libertarian. 

Voters will be picking candidates for the November election for each party, including federal and state races. There will be no local selections for this year’s primary for Polk County voters, as not enough candidates filed for Polk County Commissioner or the Register of Deeds. 

The selections include choosing a candidate for each party for U.S. President. 

The General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3 with early voting from Oct. 15-Oct. 31 and will include federal state and local elections.