Early voting, unaffiliated voter count on the rise in Rockingham

By John Crane

Published: September 30, 2008

Two voting trends are on the rise in Rockingham County: Casting ballots early and avoiding commitment to the Republican or Democratic Party.

About 4,000 people voted before Election Day in 2000 in the county when North Carolina began offering early voting. But four years later, that figure more than doubled to roughly 9,000 for the 2004 race, said Janet Odell, director of the Board of Elections.

Odell looks for even more participation this year, when electors will decide between John McCain and Barack Obama.

“We’ve had a lot of inquiries about early voting, which is becoming more popular,“ Odell said.

Election Day is Nov. 4, with early voting in North Carolina beginning on Oct. 16 and lasting through Nov. 1.

“I expect a rather large turnout for early voting,“ Odell said.

People are impatient when they go to the polls and early voting allows more opportunity for time-strapped electors, Odell said.

“You’ve got a range of time where you can just go vote,“ Odell said. “Anybody that does it seems to love it.“

Instead of providing just one site for Rockingham County’s early voters, as the board did in 2004, this year there will be six locations, Odell said.

“Traffic was a nightmare,“ Odell said of the 2004 early-voting process at the

Rockingham County Governmental Center.

While county party registration has hovered in the 28,000-voter-range for Democrats and from 17,000 to 18,000 for Republicans, the number of those registered as unaffiliated went up nearly a quarter since 2004 - from 9,413 to 11,439 so far, Odell said.

Those who register unaffiliated like to have a choice whether to vote in the Republican or Democratic primaries, Odell said. Also, county electors may split their tickets between the two parties at the polls, she said.

The proportion of unaffiliated voters to Democrats and Republicans has steadily gone up since 1979, when there were about 20,000 and roughly 15,000, respectively, compared to just 5,000 unaffiliated, Odell said.

“Some people say they don’t vote for a party, they vote for a person,“ Odell said.

Rockingham County is traditionally Democratic, but voters sometimes choose Republican presidents, Odell said.

Early casting of ballots will be offered at the Rockingham County Governmental Center 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Oct. 16 to Nov. 1, Odell said. But electors will be able to participate at five other sites in the county on various days.

Oct. 20 to 27, registered constituents can vote from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the three following locations: The Eden YMCA, Reidsville’s Pennrose Mall and in a space at the strip mall adjacent to Wal-Mart in Mayodan.

Early voting will also be available from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, 25 and 27 at the Draper Recreation Center in Eden and at Reidsville’s YMCA.

• Contact staff writer John R. Crane at or (434) 791-7987.