DOBSON — For those who might have missed it, an election was held Tuesday across Surry County, as local voters helped choose nominees for two state offices in the November general election.
This involved a second primary, or runoff, in which Hal Weatherman of Wake Forest defeated Jim O’Neill in a race for lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket, according to results from across North Carolina.
O’Neill presently serves as Forsyth County district attorney.
Also victorious in a GOP second primary for state auditor was Dave Boliek of Fayetteville, who was running against Jack Clark of Raleigh.
Clark had narrowly defeated Boliek in the first primary election on March 5, when Weatherman also topped a crowded field.
With the election limited to registered Republicans, and unaffiliated voters who were eligible, turnout was low locally — not helped by the weather on Tuesday, a local elections official reported.
“The second primary made for a long day for our election officials who work the precincts,” Surry Director of Elections Michella Huff advised regarding the county’s 23 polling stations that were pressed into service. “The steady rain throughout the day made for less-than-steady voting.”
Huff added that a 3.4 % turnout occurred, less than the 6 to 7 % elections personnel were hoping to see.
The offices of both lieutenant governor and auditor are included in what’s known as the Council of State, part of the executive branch of North Carolina’s government.
Weatherman will face Democrat Rachel Hunt in November, with Boliek squaring off against Democratic nominee Jessica Holmes.
Mixed results
Tuesday’s second primary was required since the winners in the first primary on March 5 had failed to gain clear majorities from among crowded fields of candidates.
While Weatherman won handily in both Surry County and statewide Tuesday, Clark took Surry County while losing in North Carolina as a whole.
Weatherman defeated O’Neill by a statewide vote count of 96,461 to 33,111, representing 74 % of the ballots cast.
He won by a similar margin locally, garnering 1,042 votes in Surry (79 %), compared to 272 for O’Neill.
Boliek topped Clark statewide by a vote total of 66,895 to 58,974, or 53 to 47 %.
It was a different story in Surry County, with Clark winning 668 to 594, representing the same %age by which Boliek won statewide.
Elkin leads way
Voter turnout was mixed across the county Tuesday.
“Our largest precinct did have the biggest turnout, with 199 voters in the Elkin precinct,” Huff disclosed.
“Elkin was the stand-alone largest turnout followed by Pilot with 84, and Mount Airy combined voted 77.”
The presence of a low-key election with only one party’s candidates involved also was reflected during early voting, which had begun on April 25 at a lone site in Dobson, the Surry County Board of Elections office.
A total of 297 people cast ballots during that period, which ended last Saturday when 35 voters did so.
“We did receive a few calls about voters who had made party changes right after they had voted in the primary election and yet those changes had not yet been reflected on their voter registration record,” Huff mentioned in further highlighting the runoff situation.
“New registrations and party changes are not permitted between the first and second primaries.”
Such changes and registrations are on hold throughout the state until a canvass on May 24, a process that involves accounting for every ballot cast and ensuring each valid vote is included in the election totals.
Huff further reported that 20 provisional voters were encountered on Election Day, which involves letting individuals go ahead and cast ballots pending a final determination of their eligibility.
Those ballots will be considered at a Surry County Board of Elections meeting next Thursday at 5 p.m. in Dobson.
“We really want to express thanks to our dedicated precinct officials for committing to work this election,” Huff concluded.
“Elections cannot happen without the precinct officials from all 23 communities in our county.”
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