Blog: High turnout, incumbents carry day

After months of campaigning and thousands of negative ads, voters had their say Tuesday across North Carolina and the nation.

Turnout at North Carolina State University was up 57 percent even after the polling site was moved off campus, the group said. Meanwhile, turnout at a Duke University precinct was up 40 percent, and turnout at two precincts near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was up 38 and 60 percent.

A precinct in Maxton ran out of ballots and closed for about 45 minutes in the afternoon – only 500 ballots were provided to the precinct, which has about 2,500 registered voters, officials said – so 60 to 70 voters who showed up during that time were turned away. The state board voted to allow the precinct to stay open until 8:15 p.m.

A polling place was moved for a precinct in Clayton, but the state elections board website continued to show a photo of the old site. Precinct officials redirected voters to the new site, but some local advocates asked that the precinct remain open until 8 p.m. because of the confusion. The board rejected the request.

The board also rejected a proposal to keep the Bentonville precinct open until 9 p.m. because it opened late.

Lincoln County had a countywide power outage Tuesday morning, which delayed the opening of two polling places by 15 to 30 minutes. Two voters complained about the issue, but the board decided not to extend the voting time beyond 7:30 p.m.

The biggest problems logged by the state have been in Johnston County, where the polling site at the Bentonville Community Building didn’t open until 8 a.m., an hour and a half after Election Day’s 6:30 a.m. start time. Josh Lawson, a spokesman for the board of elections, said roughly 70 people left the polling place without voting in the morning.

The State Board of Elections has the option extending the hours that polling place will be open beyond the normal 7:30 p.m. closing time, although they have not yet met to make that decision.

Hagan stayed close to Greensboro on Election Day, making the rounds in Guilford County to rally volunteers and supporters.

Meanwhile, WRAL News reporter Cullen Browder is waiting at the Omni hotel in Charlotte for Republican candidate Thom Tillis to either claim victory or admit defeat in the U.S. Senate race.

Tillis hit a few polling sites in Charlotte earlier in the day to meet voters. Browder said his campaign is trying to exude confidence after a grueling campaign, and Tillis even joked that he'll be happy not to see his face in a campaign ad on Wednesday.

"We've been very surprised with the numbers. We didn't think we would do half of we've done," chief precinct judge Anne Downey said. "Everybody seems really motivated."

State election officials say voter turnout has been particularly high in Apex and Cary.

"These examples of failed vote tabulation, incorrect voter rolls, and precinct confusion make it clear that voters in North Carolina are not freely able to exercise this most cherished right," Michele Jawondo, vice president of the progressive group, wrote in the letter. "We call upon the state board of elections to investigate and address these issues immediately to ensure that North Carolinians can exercise their legal right to vote."

Moses said this is his first time working a polling place, but he was told that turnout is ahead of where it was two years ago.

"The U.S. Senate is the one," he said when asked which race people were most interested in voting in.

His group has endorsed Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan and that campaign.

"There are a lot of big issues at stake," he said, noting that people have expressed the most concern about education and health care.

The apple-shaped cards are similar to handouts distributed by NCAE for years.

It was a first time working the polls for both.

"We like to encourage people to vote," Hebda said.

Poole is in a martial arts class that Mitchell teaches.

Both are home-schooled but take a civics class and are getting extra credit for their work on Tuesday.

"They've been pretty friendly," Hebda said of the voters he's met.

Tricia Shields is one of 19 candidates for a seat on the appeals court.

"She was the first to file, though," Gary Shields said. "She didn't know there were going to be 19."

He said that there had been steady turnout at his polling location, Peace Presbyterian Church, from 6:30 a.m. on, and things only slowed down a bit at lunchtime.

The vehicle broke down early Tuesday after Aiken visited the polls.

"The bus couldn't keep up with the pace of our campaign, so we had to leave it behind," Aiken's campaign said in a statement. "We've worked it to death these past three weeks traveling across the district, and it got the job done."

Viewer Andy Washburn sent WRAL News a photo of Aiken's broken down bus Tuesday morning.

"It seems like the lunch crowd has gotten steadier," she said as the number of voters picked up toward midday.

Hope Bryant did not know that her new husband was interested in running for DA when they got married earlier this year. However, she is no stranger to politics. Her father was a Johnston County commissioner for 30 years, and she used to help him campaign.

"I think most people know what they want to do before they get here," she said of voters, even as she asked them to consider voting for her husband.

The length of the ballot was requiring that voters take their time, she said, noting that straight-ticket voting is no longer an option in North Carolina.

"These people remember me," he said, after exchanging greetings with one man who said he had a Bradshaw sign in his yard.

"Even if I don't win, I have at least raised awareness that we are not paying attention to the right priorities," Bradshaw said. He said he is running in order to urge Republican state Senate leaders to invest more in education and other public projects that make Raleigh and North Carolina attractive.

At St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, the Student Government Association organized a coordinated march to the polls Tuesday morning.

Cosmopolitan magazine sent a crew of male models to North Carolina State University where a "party bus" was shuttling students to their polling place. The Washington Post reported that sophomore Camden Willeford won a national contest to attract the bus.

Turnout is running high at the polling place, workers said. Crowds and lines have been reported at polling places across Wake County this morning.

Many voters have left both polling places without casting ballots. The schools are about 2½ miles apart.

Temperatures will be chilly for those voting before work or school, according to WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. Temperatures will be in the 40s through at least 9 a.m. before climbing into the 50s during the late morning. Daytime highs will top out in the upper 60s under mostly sunny skies.

Voters lined up early Tuesday morning outside Westhigh Church in Cary and other Triangle polling places.

Voters were also out in big numbers at the South Regional Library on South Alston Avenue in Durham.

The fiercely waged U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Libertarian challenger Sean Haugh tops the North Carolina ballot. The campaign is the most expensive in the U.S., topping $100 million in spending, and Hagan has held a narrow lead over Tillis in several recent polls.

Republicans are trying to pick up six seats in the Senate to gain complete control over Congress, and North Carolina is seen by many observers as a key part of the GOP efforts.

Among other congressional races, Republican 2nd District Congresswoman Renee Ellmers faces a challenge from pop singer Clay Aiken, and the retirements of Republican 6th District Congressman Howard Coble and Democratic 7th District Congressman Mike McIntyre leave two seats up for grabs. Incumbents are expected to win easily in other U.S. House districts across central North Carolina.

All 170 seats in the General Assembly are up for election, but dozens of incumbents face no opposition. Republicans are trying to hold on to the super-majorities they have in both the House and Senate, while Democrats hope to chip away at those leads to put themselves in better position for the 2016 elections.

Local races vary by county, although many counties have commissioners, sheriffs, school board members and other positions on the ballot.

In Wake County, control of the county Board of Commissioners is at stake, with all four members of the Republican majority seeking re-election. Sheriff Donnie Harrison is seeking another four-year term, while Clerk of Superior Court Lorrin Freeman and defense attorney John Bryant are vying to succeed longtime District Attorney Colon Willoughby.

North Carolina voters also will be asked whether to amend the state constitution to allow criminal defendants to waive their right to a jury trial and have a judge determine if they are guilty. Raleigh voters must decide on whether to issue $92 million in bonds to improve area parks, while school, liquor and community college bonds are on the ballot elsewhere.