Poll workers at Bryson City 1 Precinct are pictured from left: Leila Hyde, Jeff Shuler, Bill Helwig, Susan Hester, Jenney Abels and Linda Sawyer.
Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Super Tuesday is now in the rearview and we are one step closer to the 2024 General Election.
On Tuesday afternoon, a steady flow of a few voters at a time were coming through to cast ballots and poll workers at Bryson City 1 Precinct agreed it had been going steady throughout the day.
In total, 22.71% of the county’s registered voters cast ballots in the primary, according to results available at ncsbe.gov. The number of Republican ballots cast was about double that of Democrat in the county with just a handful of Libertarian ballots cast.
Swain County Board of Elections Director Adam Byrnes reported the day went smoothly for the county and that voter turnout although down slightly from 2020 was in line with expectations “and was likely caused by the absence of a highly competitive presidential primary.”
He praised the county poll workers for the work they put in over the long day, with polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“Swain County’s poll workers did an excellent job of administering the election at each precinct, and all of them, especially our chief judges, deserve special recognition for ensuring that this election was run properly. Election board members and staff were also instrumental in ensuring a smooth process,” he said by email.
This was the first time the county used both a new EVS voting system and new election software, with Byrnes concluding “all indications are that it performed very strongly.”
At the top of the ticket, Swain voters followed state and national trends favoring former President Donald Trump (79.55%) followed by Nikki Haley (17.89%) on the Republican side and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (81.36%) on the Democrat side followed by “no preference” (18.64%). Haley, the South Carolina former Governor, said she would suspend her campaign after Tuesday’s results.
Swain Republicans chose Tanner Lawson (37.11%) and incumbent Kenneth Parton (34.44%) for two Swain County Board of Commissioners seats. Eric Watson came in third (28.45%).
This would determine the two seats for next year’s board except that four will seek to be on the ballots this November as Unaffiliated, which requires they get 390 signatures from registered voters. Those who have started that process are: Ben King, Brandon Morgan, Shannon Lackey and Bobby Jenkins.
“We could have up to three Unaffiliated candidates for commissioner on the ballot in November, depending on how many signatures are ultimately validated for each of them. The deadline to submit an Unaffiliated candidate petition was yesterday at noon,” said Byrnes by email Wednesday morning.
Republican one-time incumbent Congressman Chuck Edwards easily defeated challenger Christian Reagan. He will face Caleb Rudow, a Democratic state legislator from Asheville, in the Nov. 5 general election to retain the seat.
Statewide, more than 1.5 million voters cast ballots (24.2%).
The stage is set for several state council seats. For Governor, Josh Stein, who currently serves as the state Attorney General, will face Republican Mark Robinson, who currently serves as Lieutenant Governor, and Libertarian Mike Ross, a businessman.
In Judge races, Virginia Hornsby was chosen by Republican voters over Andy Buckner for the new District 43 seat that covers the far west.
Local results of the election will become official on canvass day, to be held Friday, March 15 and state results will be certified Tuesday, March 26.
If any contests require a second primary it is to be held May 14. Early indications are that this will be necessary for the Lieutenant Governor and Auditor race for the Republican ticket.
To view the full results of the primary in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/election-results/about-election-results-dashboard.
For local questions, contact the Swain County Board of Elections office by calling 488-6177.