Demonstrators march in Durham to encourage early voting

Educators, parents, students and community members joined together Saturday for a march to encourage members of the Durham community to vote early this election season.

"Early voting gives our citizens the flexibility to fit voting into their hectic lives, and is especially important to ensure each and every register voter exercises this important right," said Sara Terry, president of the Durham People's Alliance.

Educators and parents of public school children were excited about the march because of the strong push to hold voter registration events at schools throughout Durham County.

"I'm so glad that all the folks who registered this fall at their child's school will have their first chance to vote at this fun early voting event," Ann Rebeck, president of the Durham council of PTA's said. "The collaboration that has made registration and this event possible is so great for Durham voters."

People wishing to vote this weekend need to check with the local elections office, however, because there are fewer early-voting sites than in 2012 since there is no presidential election this year. Also, not all counties offer weekend hours for early voting.

Cumberland County, for example, doesn't have voting on either Saturday or Sunday, while Johnston County sites are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday but closed on Sunday.

Wake County has cut back its Saturday voting to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., while Durham County sites will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

On Sunday, people can vote from 1 to 5 p.m. in Wake County and from 2 to 6 p.m. in Durham County.

Early voting continues next week, ending on Nov. 1.