In even-numbered years a primary election is held to nominate a candidate to represent a political party in the general election held later in the same year. In North Carolina the officially recognized political parties (the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Libertarians) hold their primaries on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May. Registered voters may vote only in the primary election of their declared party.

Unaffiliated Voters and NC Primaries
Unaffiliated voters in North Carolina MAY vote in primary elections. In the second paragraph, please replace the second sentence with “Currently in North Carolina the Democrats and Republicans open their respective primaries to unaffiliated voters. When unaffiliated voters present themselves to vote, in addition to stating their name and residence address, they will also state in which party’s primary they would like to participate. This choice is for that primary only and carries over to the second primary if a second primary is called. This choice does not change the voters’ registration status from unaffiliated.

In even-numbered years a general election is held to elect a candidate to office. In North Carolina the general election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Registered voters may vote for candidates in any recognized party regardless of the voters’ declared party affiliation or non-affiliation.

Municipal elections in North Carolina are held in odd-numbered years. In Brunswick County all of the municipal elections are administrated by the Brunswick County Board of Elections on behalf of the municipalities. All of the municipal elections in Brunswick County are nonpartisan and decided by simple plurality, i.e. the candidate(s) with the most votes wins. There are no municipal primaries or municipal runoff elections in Brunswick County. Brunswick County’s municipal elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Please note: Voting on Election Day in odd-numbered municipal election years is held at the same polling location as voting on Election Day in even-numbered primary and general election years. Your polling location does not change just because it is a municipal election year