As of April 9, nearly 83,000 Buncombe County residents — about 40.3% of all voters — had registered as unaffiliated, compared with about 75,000 Democrats (36.5%), 46,000 Republicans (22.4%) and 1,700 Libertarians (0.8%). The shift represents an unaffiliated increase of nearly 15 percentage points since the 2008 primaries.
Xpress answers common questions about voting in the 2020 general election, including where to find your sample ballot, how to vote by mail and if identification is required at the polls.
Pandemic conditions, rumors about problems with mail-in voting, how to get a ballot, how soon to send it in, confusion about photo ID rules and many other concerns addressed in this NC voting in 2020 FAQ.
“In order to protect our democracy, we must address these issues and go even further to allocate $4 billion in federal funding for states and mandate the implementation of reforms nationwide …”
Although unaffiliated voters are the second most-populous political group in North Carolina, no members of the state’s Congressional delegation are unaffiliated, nor are any officeholders at the state level. According to the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, just seven of 587 total county commission seats were won by independent or third-party candidates in 2018.
‘If I met each of them again as we approach the midterm elections, I would respond to the same comment saying: ‘Look at the results we got partly because you failed to make your voice heard in 2016.'”
Movers and shakers on progressive issues have had increasing success in Buncombe County politics since the turn of the century. Activists and organizers on the left have carved out a stronghold in Asheville where they keep power by setting the agenda for conversation according to some. Meanwhile a rise in disaffiliation with the traditional two parties leaves openings for candidates that don’t fit traditional molds in Asheville politics.
The new governor of the state of North Carolina will deliver her first biennial State of the State address tonight to a joint assembly of the N.C. Legislature—and to the public via live television. Meanwhile, legislative bills have moved forward to aid the state’s food banks, including WNC’s MANNA FoodBank. Also, Perdue will speak in Asheville on Thursday.
According to statistics released by the Buncombe County Board of Elections, 14,415 new voters have registered since early February. The vast majority (98 percent) of the new voters are registered as Democrats (7,355) or unaffiliated (6,765). The number of registered Republicans stayed roughly the same, going up by 186 new voters.
North Carolina is one of six states asked by Social Security Administration to investigate “extraordinarily high levels” of voter verifications by Social Security number instead of by state-issued identification.
With a gain of 603,000 new voters in the state, the most people ever are eligible to vote in North Carolina 2008 general election.
N.C. primary voter-registration deadline looms — but there’s another way into the voting booth.
No more excuses! One-stop early voting sites will now permit you to register and vote on the same day.
