Local Politics

Who is running, how to vote in local elections on Tuesday

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, is an election day in North Carolina, with elections for mayor in Durham and Fayetteville, and a town council runoff election in Cary, among others. Polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Posted 2023-11-06T14:40:53+00:00 - Updated 2023-11-07T17:39:55+00:00

Election day is Tuesday, don't forget to bring your photo ID

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, is an election day in North Carolina, with elections for mayor in Durham and Fayetteville and a town council runoff election in Cary, among others. Polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

You can visit the State Board of Elections website to check your voter status and view a sample ballot.

Voter ID required in NC

The key thing for all voters to know is that photo ID will be required in North Carolina elections in 2023.

Bring one of the following acceptable forms of ID with you to vote:

North Carolina driver’s license
State ID from the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”)
Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)
U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card
North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections (These are available for free in advance. You can't get one on election day.)
College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections (The state has a long list of acceptable student IDs)
State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections (The state has a long list of acceptable government and employee IDs)

All voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID. If a voter cannot show photo ID when voting in person, they can still vote by filling out an ID Exception Form. If absentee-by-mail voters are unable to include a copy of their photo ID with their ballot return envelope, they can also fill out an ID Exception Form with their ballot.

The Raleigh mayor and city council seats are not up for election in 2023. Due to redistricting and COVID-19 in 2021, Raleigh City Council elections were delayed until 2022. The mayoral and city council elections were then permanently moved to even years via Senate Bill 722.

Triangle schools closed on Election Day

Many schools serve as polling places on election day and, in response, districts have let students have the day off to ease traffic in and out of school buildings and keep students safe from strangers.

The Wake County Public School System, the largest in the state, voted in 2022 to make election days off days for students. Several other districts have followed suit.

Students in public schools in these counties have the day off on Nov. 7, 2023:

Wake
Durham
Cumberland
Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Orange
Chatham
Lee
Moore
Granville
Halifax
Vance

School in session on Nov. 7, 2023, for students in public schools in these central NC counties:

Johnston
Harnett
Nash
Wayne
Franklin
Hoke
Warren
Wilson
Edgecombe
Sampson

Durham will elect a new mayor

Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal is not running for re-election. She has served a single two-year term.

Current City Council Member Leonardo Williams and current state Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham, were the top two vote getters in the primary held last month. Williams has been a Durham City Council member since 2021. He's a former teacher and now a local business owner. Woodard served on the Durham City Council from 2005 to 2012 and is an administrator at Duke University.

Durham mayoral race narrows down to Leonardo Williams, Mike Woodard for general election

Six candidates will vie for three at-large Durham City Council seats. Voters will be asked to choose three of the six.

On the ballot are:

Nate Baker
Javiera Caballero [i]
Carl Rist
Khaliah Karim
Shelia Huggins
Monique Holsey-Hyman [i].

Caballero and Holsey-Hyman are incumbents, current members of the council.

There are no Durham County elections on the November ballot.

Fayetteville voter will elect mayor, council representatives

In Fayetteville, the mayor’s race pits incumbent Mitch Colvin against challenger Freddie de la Cruz.

Colvin is seeking a fourth term after garnering 60.5% of the primary vote. De la Cruz got 21.9% votes in October and is a retired military police officer.

Fayetteville mayoral candidates square off in debate at Fayetteville State University

Also in Fayetteville, all city council seats, Districts 1 through 9, are on the ballot. There are incumbents for each seat. In Districts 6 and 8 the incumbents are running unopposed.

Outside of Raleigh, most Wake County communities hold vote

In Cary, Sarika Bansal and Rachel Jordan are in a runoff election for Town Council District D. Both got more votes than the incumbent, Ryan Eades, in that race, and both have said they want to focus on smart growth and affordability.

There are elections in the following municipalities for mayor and town council/commissioners:

Apex
Fuquay-Varina
Garner
Holly Springs
Knightdale
Wake Forest
Wendell
Zebulon

These communities will vote on bonds:

Fuquay-Varina Parks and Recreation
Holly Springs Parks and Recreation
Wendell Transportation
Wendell Parks and Recreation

Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Carrboro to elect town leadership

In Orange County, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro are holding mayoral and council elections on Nov. 7, 2023.

In Chapel Hill, there is certain to be a new mayor, after incumbent Pam Hemminger opted not to seek a fifth term. Candidates Jess Anderson and Adam Searing are both town council members and have a history of sparring over issues in Chapel Hill.

Other Orange County races on the ballot: