Mount Olive voters will go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7, to elect a new mayor and five town board members, all of whom will serve two-year terms.
The polls, located at the Historic Train Depot, 110 W. Main St., will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Unofficial results will be posted that night at mountolivetribune.com.
Municipal as well as the sanitary district elections on Tuesday’s ballot are nonpartisan. All of the new municipal and sanitary district terms will begin on the first Monday in December.
Current at-large Commissioner Steve Wiggins and Jerome Newton are competing for the mayoral seat being left vacant by Mayor Kenny Talton who did not seek re-election.It is Newton’s second run for mayor. He failed to unseat Talton in the previous election.
Robert King and Danny Keel are facing off for the at-large seat.
District 1 Commissioner Vicky Darden, who is seeking her fourth term, is facing two challengers including the mother of a sitting town commissioner.
The challengers are Ann Carol Simmons, the mother of District 2 Commissioner Delreese Simmons, and Brenda Lee Simpson.
In District 2, Delreese Simmons is facing a challenge from former commissioner Harlie Carmichael whom he unseated in the previous election.
District 3 Commissioner Barbara Kornegay is the only uncontested candidate for town board.
District 4 Commission Tommy Brown is running for a second term and is being challenged by Blake Turner.
Voters are reminded that they will be asked to show a photo ID when they check in to vote.
Acceptable photo IDs include any of the following that is unexpired or expired for one year or less:
• North Carolina driver’s license.
• U.S. Passport Book/U.S. Passport Card.
• State ID from the N.C Division of Motor Vehicles (“non-operator ID”).
• N.C. Voter Photo ID card, issued by a county board of elections.
• College/university student ID approved by State Board of Elections.
• Charter school employee ID approved by State Board of Elections.
• State/local government employee ID approved by State Board of Elections.
• Driver’s license/non-driver ID from another state, D.C. or U.S. territory (only if the voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election).
Also acceptable are any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date:
• Military or veteran ID card issued by the U.S. government.
• Tribal enrollment card issued by a state or federally recognized tribe.
• ID card issued by a U.S. government agency or the state of North Carolina for a public assistance program.
According to the Wayne County Board of Elections website, if you do not have a valid photo ID card on Election Day, you may still vote with a provisional ballot and have your vote counted by signing an affidavit of reasonable impediment (or “Photo ID Exception Form”) as to why you have not presented a valid photo ID.
The Exception Form can also be used if you have a religious objection to being photographed or are a victim of a recently declared natural disaster.
As an alternative, if you don’t have your ID when you vote, you can still vote a provisional ballot and then bring your valid photo ID to your county board of elections by 5 p.m. on the ninth day after Election Day (the day before the county vote canvass).
The canvass will be held Friday, Nov. 17.
For information on voter photo ID, visit ncsbe.gov/voter-id.
For more information, including sample ballots, visit https://www.waynegov.com/783/Board-of-Elections.
You also may call 919-731-1411 or send email to elections@waynegov.com.
