Early voting modest after a week-plus

ELIZABETHTOWN — One week remains before Election Day, and early voting totals are modest.

Bladen County voters will be choosing leaders in seven municipalities this year. In White Lake, there is also a referendum.

In reports from the staff of the Bladen County Board of Elections, 219 votes had been cast at the one-stop site through Friday. This is the final week, and will include hours on Saturday.

Hours each weekday are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The five-member board set up last Tuesday, along with today and Election Day, as times to consider approval of ballots mailed in. There were none for consideration last week, and the meeting was subsequently canceled.

Today is the final day to request an absentee by mail ballot. All must be returned to the Board of Elections office by Election Day on Nov. 2.

Voters in the county are selecting leaders for Bladenboro, Clarkton, Dublin, East Arcadia, Elizabethtown, Tar Heel and White Lake.

There is also an alochol measure, commonly referred to as liquor by the drink, for White Lake. Voters will consider its town board’s resolution to vote for or against a measure “to permit the sale of mixed beverages in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, community theaters, and convention centers.”

Here’s each municipality, positions available and candidates:

• Bladenboro: Mayor, Sue Elkins Hester, Joey Todd, David Hales; commissioners, Lisa M. Levy, Blake Proctor, Gregory Sykes, Jeff Atkinson. The three mayoral candidates are all seeking the spot held by Rufus Duckworth. Proctor is the only challenger among the commissioner candidates; each of the other three are incumbents.

• Clarkton: Commissioners, Jerome Myers, Stephen Hester. Each are incumbents.

• Dublin: Mayor, Alex Hursey; commissioner, Jeffrey Smith. Hursey is seeking the spot held by Mayor Darryl Dowless. Smith is an incumbent.

• East Arcadia: Commissioners, Pamela Graham. Graham is seeking reelection. Nobody else filed; the seat held by Lillian Graham is also to be filled by the choice of voters.

• Elizabethtown: Town Council, Paula Greene, Rufus Lloyd, Herman Lewis, Harfel Davis, Ilka Huntley McElveen, William H. Moore. There is a special election for the two years left on the unexpired term of the late Dickie Glenn; his son, Rich Glenn Jr., is serving by appointment of the town board and is the only candidate in that race. Greene, Lloyd and Lewis are incumbents among the six vying for the three spots that have four-year terms available.

• Tar Heel: Mayor, Sam Allen; commissioners, Steve Dowless. Allen is the incumbent. There are three seats for commissioners on the ballot, all changing to four-year terms as does the mayoral post; commissioner incumbents Michael Underwood, Angie Hall and Derek Druzak did not file for reelection.

• White Lake: Commissioners, Mike Suggs, Tim Blount, Paul Evans. All are incumbents.