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Voter Registration Ends April 22 for Primary Election with Early Voting Beginning April 28; Voting Guidelines and Candidacies for All Avery County Races Listed Here

By Tim Gardner

Friday, April 22 is the regular voter registration (to register to vote or to switch political parties) deadline for the May 17, 2022 Primary Election.  The deadline for forms with missing or unclear postmarks and hard copies of forms submitted electronically is the following Wednesday, April 27.

Early voting in Avery County will be held on the following days: Thursday, April 28; Friday, April 29; Monday, May 2; Tuesday, May 3; Wednesday, May 4: Thursday, May 5; Friday, May 6; Monday, May 9; Tuesday, May 10; Wednesday, May 11; Thursday, May 12; Friday, May 13; and Saturday May 14.  

Early voting will only be held at the Avery County Senior Citizens Center, located at 165 Shultz Circle in Newland from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each of those days, except for Saturday, May 14, when voting must be done within the hours of 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. That is the only Saturday when early voting may be conducted.

For this year only, if there is a second primary, more commonly known as a Run-Off election, voter registration will be available between the primaries. Eligible persons may register and update their registrations, but they may not change their party affiliation then. The second Primary Election or runoff date is Tuesday, July 26. It was moved from July 5 by the State Board of Elections. The voter registration deadline for the second primary is Friday, July 1. 

Voter registration is also available between any first and second municipal elections such as primary and general or general and runoff.

There are no second primaries or run-offs in a non-partisan office.  A candidate or candidates who receive the highest number of votes for the seat or number of seats open will automatically be elected.

There are no non-partisan races in November’s General Election.

The 2022 May Primary Elections will be held for county, regional, state and national offices. A total of 17 candidates are seeking local public offices in Avery County, plus numerous other candidates to regional, state and national offices.

Avery County offices open this year include: Sheriff, County Commissioner, Board of Education and Clerk of Superior Court.

Candidates for county offices include: Lee Buchanan, Mike Henley and Russell Carver for Sheriff; incumbent Teresa Benfield for Clerk of Superior  Court; incumbents Blake Vance, Dennis Aldridge and Wood Hall (Woodie) Young, Jr., along with Derek Buchanan, Glenn Johnson and Robert Burleson for County Commissioner; incumbents and sisters Pat Ellis Edwards and Jane Ellis Bumgarner, along with Linda Webb, Randy Singleton, Dennis Brown, Casey Lee and Dustin Trice for the non-partisan Board of Education.

Three seats are open for County Commissioner and two seats are open on the Board of Education. 

Since Benfield is unopposed for Clerk of Court, she will not be on the ballot until the General Election on November 8.

The Sheriff, County Commissioner, and Clerk of Superior Court elections in Avery County are a Republican primary.

The candidate in local partisan elections in Avery County with the most votes after the Primary Election, ensuing voting canvass conducted by Avery Board of Election officials on Friday, May 27 and (if necessary) a second Primary or Run-Off election would automatically be elected unless any candidate or candidates’ files or file to run as a write-in during the General Election.

In order to run in the General Election as a write-in candidate, that person or persons must obtain a petition of a minimum of 500 signatures of Avery County’s registered voters endorsing such a candidacy. And that petition would have to be submitted to the Avery County Board of Elections officials at least 90 days (August 9 deadline) before the General Election.

There are no Democrats running for Sheriff, County Commissioner, and Clerk of Superior Court in Avery County this year. The names of the candidates who win the Primary Election will also be listed on the General Election voter ballots even if they have no write-in opposition. In that scenario, the Primary Election winners will already be assured to be sworn in to office regardless of how many votes they receive in the General Election.

Additionally, Avery County voters will join those from Watauga, Mitchell, Yancey and Madison counties in electing a District Attorney for District Number 35.  Banks will also not be listed on the Primary Election ballot since he is unopposed.

Avery voters also will join those from Mitchell, Yancey and parts of McDowell counties in electing a State Representative (House Member) for District Number 85 and voters from Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell counties and parts of Haywood and Caldwell counties in electing a State Senator for District Number 47.

For district offices, Republican incumbent Seth Banks filed for re-election as District Attorney; Republican incumbents Deanna Ballard of Blowing Rock and Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine filed for State Senate; and Republican incumbent Dudley Greene, a Newland native and current resident of Marion, and Democrat Robert Sherrill Cordle, also of Marion, filed for State House. 

Incumbent Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk, Michael Ackerman of Boone and Bernard Kyle Parrish of Cary filed for United States House (Congress) for North Carolina’s District Number 5, which besides Avery, includes Mitchell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Surry, Stokes, Davie, Yadkin and parts of both Caldwell and Forsyth counties. 

Foxx and Ackerman are Republicans. Parrish is a Democrat.

Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Primary Election Day.

For more information about Avery County elections, call its Board of Elections office at (828) 733-8282 or log online to: https://www.averycountync.gov/departments/board_elections_office.php