Early voting turnout lower than expected in the the Cape Fear

WILMINGTON (WWAY) — Municipal elections are Tuesday — and there are a number of races across the Cape Fear. But early voting numbers are starting to come in, and turnout appears to be lower than expected.

A little more than 7,000 votes have been cast in New Hanover County so far… with most of the votes coming from the Northeast Regional Library polling station near Landfall in Wilmington.

Brunswick County is right under 2,000 votes.

Columbus County has only had 267 early votes.

Pender County’s early voting stats were not available as of Friday night… and Bladen County is not holding early voting.

Nelson Beaulieu is a political science instructor at Cape Fear Community College. He says the numbers are not necessarily surprising because it’s not a national election year.

“In 1971, the state of north Carolina moved the municipal elections to the off year. They wanted to separate national politics and state politics with local issues,” Beaulieu said. “We still have a little bit of time so we’ll have to wait and see where they ultimately end up.”

For those counties with early voting, you can still vote early Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and of course you can vote on Election Day which is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Don’t forget… a photo ID is now required for all voters in North Carolina.