ELIZABETHTOWN — Through the first four days, 380 residents in Bladen County have gone to the polls and registered votes in the early period.
The special election in the 9th District for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is Sept. 10. Early voting started Wednesday and will continue through the Friday before the general election day.
Early voting is set up at the Board of Elections off on South Cypress Street in Elizabethtown, and at the Tar Heel Municipal Building. There have been 295 visit the board office, including a high of 93 on Friday, and 85 have cast ballots at the Tar Heel site, with a high of 33 on Thursday.
Last week, the Bladen County Board of Elections said there here have been 29 requests for absentee-by-mail ballots. Two had been returned and each was approved at that Tuesday meeting.
State Sen. Dan Bishop won a 10-candidate Republican primary in May and is facing Dan McCready of the Democratic Party, Allen Smith of the Green Party and Jeff Scott of the Libertarian Party. All are from Charlotte. The seat was previously held by Robert Pittenger, also of Charlotte.
The 9th District stretches from the eastern side of Mecklenburg County to the southern portion of Cumberland County and northern portion of Bladen County, with all of Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties included. This seat has been occupied by a Republican since 1963; it has been vacant since Congress convened in January.
The race has drawn the attention of President Donald Trump, who is expected to campaign on Bishop’s behalf before Sept. 10.
The special election was made necessary following investigations and a February hearing by the state Board of Elections, which refused to certify the Nov. 6 result. That hearing ended with a ruling that the outcome was in doubt in connection to absentee ballots. Results of the probe were handed to the Wake County District Attorney, criminal investigations were conducted and so far 11 people have been arrested.
DA Lorrin Freeman has said her staff’s investigation is not yet complete.
The poll at the Bladen County Board of Elections, 301 S. Cypress St. in Elizabethtown, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Saturday. Early voting then resumes Tuesday, Sept. 3, and runs through Sept. 6, each day 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The poll at the Tar Heel Municipal Building, 14867 N.C. 87 in Tar Heel, will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. this week through Saturday. Early voting then resumes Tuesday, Sept. 3, and runs through Sept. 6, each day 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The two sites are not open on Sundays or Labor Day.
On Sept. 10, Bladen County polls in the Ninth Congressional District will open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
A portion of the county is in the 7th District, a seat that is held by Republican Rep. David Rouzer.
This election has no direct ties to the municipal elections Nov. 5, or that election cycle’s early voting period.
