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The last day for Early Voting will be Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. More than 8,000 people have participated in Early Voting, said Connie Kelly, director of the Richmond County Board of Elections.

“Altogether (there have been) around 8,200 (early voters) at this time,” said Kelly. “As busy as it seems we have been, the numbers are not as high as they were in 2008. While the numbers are comparable at the Cooperative Extension to what we voted in the BOE office that year, the numbers at the off-sites (the Cole Auditorium and Ellerbe) seem to be way down.”

Early voters have a last minute chance to head to one of three early voting locations. The first is the Richmond County Agricultural Center or Cooperative Extension building, at 123 Caroline St. in Rockingham. Cole Auditorium is located on the Richmond Community College’s campus in Hamlet and Ellerbe Town Hall is located at 108 Page St., Ellerbe.

“Early voting ends on Saturday at 1 p.m. After that, the voters only choice is to vote on Election Day (Nov. 6) at their voting precinct,” she said. “We have not experienced wait times, other than on the Sunday that we were open, and that was mostly due to the fact that a large number of voters came as a group at the same time and were already in line at the time we opened. The turnout for Early Voting is surprising. It’s a good turnout but not as many as predicted.”

The precincts where voters will head on Tuesday have undergone some small changes, with the addition of two new locations.

“Rockingham #3 is located at Roberdell United Methodist Church on Roberdel Road,” said Kelly about one of the new precinct voting locations. “This location was used in the Primary and 2nd Primary. A new location was necessary since Roberdell School closed. The Wolf Pit #3 voters are moving to a new location at Cordova School on Church Street in Cordova. The reason for this move is that the Cordova Rescue Squad is now a 24-hour-a-day manned station of First Health EMS.”

Not all voters will have the same ballot this year, as some of the precincts are split.

“All ballots are the same except for N.C. House,” explained Kelly. “In 10 out of 16 precincts, the House district is split. Some will have District 48, while others will be in District 66. Rockingham #1, Rockingham #2, Wolf Pit #1, Wolf Pit #2, Wolf Pit #4, Marks Creek #1, Marks Creek #2, Beaver Dam #1, Beaver Dam #2, Mineral Springs #1 each have two ballot styles.”

Check the weekend edition of the Daily Journal to see where your voting precinct will be, as well as a list of candidates in each race for the General Election.

— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.