Election Day live updates: Voters head to polls across NC
After months of campaigning, Election Day is finally here.
More than 2 million people have already voted during the early voting period, which ran from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5, and millions more will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots. The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun will provide live updates throughout the day as voting comes to an end and results begin to be reported.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
Follow our coverage by refreshing this page to find the latest updates, and following the rest of our reporting at newsobserver.com.
Use our voter guides to research candidates
Updated 6 a.m.: If you’re voting today and still need to research the candidates running for office in your area, click on the N&O and Herald-Sun voting guides below to see where candidates stand on issues like abortion, immigration, and education, and what they describe as their top priorities.
We also asked candidates running for the state legislature where they stand on important issues. Those responses can be found here.
More information about the election can be found at newsobserver.com/voter-guide.
Several high-stakes races on the ballot
Updated 6 a.m.: Races on the ballot Tuesday include high-profile and competitive contests that could have major ramifications for the balance of power in Washington and Raleigh.
An open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Richard Burr is up for grabs, and could help determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress, where Democrats currently enjoy a razor-thin 50-seat majority with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.
And in the suburbs southwest of Raleigh, and other parts of central North Carolina, voters will decide whether to elect to the U.S. House a Democratic state senator, or a political newcomer endorsed by Donald Trump. The race in the 13th district is North Carolina’s most competitive this cycle, and the outcome could decide control of the House, which is also held by Democrats, but by just a handful of seats.
At the state level, Republicans are hoping to flip a handful of seats in the General Assembly to deliver them a supermajority, which would allow GOP lawmakers to pass legislation over vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. And when it comes to the N.C. Supreme Court, Republican victories in even one of the two races on the ballot would give them control of the state’s highest court.
Other important races on the ballot in the Triangle include races for sheriff, district attorney, school board, county commissioners, and mayor.