The voters may have spoken, but the State Board of Elections is still trying to figure out what they said. Although North Carolina's first stab at statewide instant-runoff voting should avoid the trouble and expense of a conventional runoff election, the winner in the 13-candidate N.C. Court of Appeals race won’t be decided until sometime […]

While national media outlets like CNN declared a “bloodbath” as Republicans gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Buncombe county stayed blue — a result that likely helped Rep. Heath Shuler keep his seat. Local Democrats won too, with the exception of incumbent Jane Whilden, who lost to Tim Moffitt.

So who’s going to win and who’s going to lose in today’s elections? Will Congressman Heath Shuler lose his seat to Republican Jeff Miller? How will the three incumbent members of the NC House — Susan Fisher, Patsy Keever, and Jane Whilden — do against their respective Republican challengers John Carroll, Mark Crawford, and Tim Moffitt? Will RL Clark defeat Martin Nesbitt? Will Chris Dixon defeat Tom Apodaca? And who will be our next Sheriff, District Attorney and Clerk of Court? And what about those judges?

The big day is finally here…you have just over 12 hours left to cast your vote for the people who will work for you in Washington, Raleigh, and right here at home in the mountains. Today’s election is a huge deal; it may not have the glamour or the excitement of 2008 but it’s just as important for the future direction of our country. Today is the day that no matter who you are — rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight — your opinion matters just as much as everyone else’s. After the jump we have voting locations and some other useful links.

In the local House and Senate Races, Democrats have raised more money than Republicans, challengers Tim Moffitt and Mark Crawford have made large loans to their own campaigns, Patsy Keever and Susan Fisher’s campaigns have been funded for the most part on the strength of individual contributions, John Carroll has raised the least of all the House candidates, and incumbent Senator Martin Nesbitt has outpaced his challenger, RL Clark, in terms of fundraising by almost 45:1. We have the numbers after the jump.

Want to hear what the candidates have to say about health care policy? The WNC/Buncombe County Medical Society is hosting the WNC Candidate Forum and Reception tonight, Oct. 28, at the Doubletree Biltmore Hotel (115 Hendersonville Road, Asheville). The forum starts at 6:30 p.m.

There are only two and a half days left for early voting…the half comes in because everything closes up at 1:00pm on Saturday, October 30. For a complete list of early voting locations, click here. For our handy-dandy election guide, interviews with all the candidates and their answers (or lack thereof) to our candidate questionnaires, click here. Vote early and avoid the lines! Photo by Jonathan Welch