Early voting kicks off Thursday in North Carolina, and The Chronicle has pulled together information on the Durham County races you’ll find on your ballot.
The county is holding elections for the Board of Commissioners, the register of deeds and the soil and water conservation district supervisor, though all of the races except for soil and water conservation district supervisor are uncontested. The City of Durham held municipal elections in November 2019, in which voters elected Mayor Steve Schewel to his second term and approved a $95 million affordable housing bond.
For more information about who’s on the ballot this election cycle, see One Vote North Carolina’s guide to General Assembly races and The Chronicle’s guide to other national and statewide races.
Board of Commissioners
The Board of Commissioners serves as the official governing body for Durham County. Duties include creating policy, adopting an annual budget, establishing the annual property tax rate and appointing various county officials. The Board of Commissioners race is uncontested this year, with five candidates running for five seats.
Voters can vote for up to five of the candidates, all of whom are Democrats:
- Nida Allam
- Nimasheena Burns
- Heidi Carter (incumbent)
- Brenda Howerton (incumbent)
- Wendy Jacobs (incumbent)
Register of deeds
The register of deeds is the custodian of land titles, land transaction documents and various other documents and records for Durham County.
Sharon Davis, an incumbent Democrat, is running unopposed for the office.
Soil and water conservation district supervisor
The role of the Board of Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors is to work with local agencies, businesses and nonprofit groups to establish conservation priorities. The board, which meets on a monthly basis, has five supervisors, three of whom are elected as non-partisan candidates and two of whom are appointed by the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
Voters can cast a ballot for one of the candidates:
- Patrick Poer
- Terence Priester
- Jillian Riley
- Anjali Boyd
- Jan Cromartie
For more election coverage from across North Carolina, visit One Vote North Carolina, a collaborative between The Chronicle and six other student newspapers that aims to help college students across the state navigate the November election.
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Matthew Griffin was editor-in-chief of The Chronicle's 116th volume.
Anna Zolotor is a Trinity senior and recruitment chair for The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously news editor for Volume 117.