Candidates, advocates push voters to polls

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, and state Rep. Bill Faison are slated to be in Asheville Saturday as hundreds of Democrats gather at a local party dinner.

Dalton also plans to speak Saturday to Democrats in Statesville, while Etheridge will greet voters at an early-voting site in Raleigh.

Groups on both sides of the divisive marriage amendment which would define marriage as between one man and one woman were gathering on street corners and church pews across the state.

Vote FOR Marriage NC, supporters of the amendment, planned a rally Monday evening in Greensboro, while OutRaleigh, an annual family festival for North Carolina’s LGBT community, expected up to 10,000 people to hear a message of opposition Saturday on Fayetteville Street. 

The early-voting period, in which people could both register and vote in advance of Tuesday's primary, ended at 1 p.m. Saturday. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and stay open until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Turnout has been heavy during early voting, with more than 300,000 ballots cast. The presidential primary and the heated debate over the definition of marriage were credited with driving voters to the polls.