The voting machines have been unplugged and returned to storage – tucked away at county offices along with dozens of "Vote Here" signs and several plastic polling booths.
Hundreds of campaign signs remain along roadways and in windows throughout the area, but today they hold a little less meaning.
Telegram photo / Alan Campbell |
Roughly 25,700 residents in Nash County and another 15,000 in Edgecombe County cast a ballot in the election – a 400 percent increase from 2004.
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The primary has passed.
Whitney Davis, hired less than three months ahead of Tuesday's primary as director of the Nash County Board of Elections, said Wednesday she was happy to have survived it.
"We made it through," Davis said, her voice hoarse after hours of labor from the day before. "It was a lot of work, but I think it went phenomenal."
With record numbers of new, young and black voters storming to the polls to weigh in on the Democratic presidential race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the importance of the primary seemed to grow and grow for months before crashing Tuesday into the laps of poll workers and election officials throughout the state.
Roughly 25,700 residents in Nash County and another 15,000 in Edgecombe County cast a ballot in the election – a 400 percent increase from 2004.
Davis, new to the elections game, said she toiled for several hours hoping to prepare for a record-setting turnout, but nothing could fully ready her for the real thing.
"I was panicking for a little bit," Davis said, referring to the one hitch in Tuesday's election.
A shortage of forms that voters must sign before casting a ballot forced poll workers to suspend voting at the Rocky Mount National Guard Armory for about 30 minutes.
"Nobody was turned away; they just had to wait until we could get more forms out there," Davis said. "Our board of elections kept the poll open an extra 30 minutes to allow for that."
Similar problems were reported in Edgecombe County, where two polling locations had to stay open late after running out of ballots in the evening.
Edgecombe County Board of Elections director Jerry Spruell – also fairly new to his post – could not be reached for comment Wednesday, as he spent the majority of the day in meetings, elections staff said.
Nash County had completely tabulated and reported its results by 9:20 p.m., but Edgecombe County lagged slightly because of the brief ballot shortfall. Edgecombe County finished reporting results around 11:15 p.m.
"Overall, I thought it went phenomenal," Davis said. "I think everyone owes a lot to the precinct workers. They get paid very little for a very long, hard day. This election process could not take place without them."
What came from all the hard work were some of the most impressive voting statistics in state history. Both Nash and Edgecombe counties outpaced the state average, which saw a record 38 percent voter turnout.
Obama dominated in the Twin Counties, winning more than 60 percent of the vote in large part because of unprecedented turnout from the black community. Black voters backed Obama at a 9-to-1 ratio statewide.
"If you look throughout the state, I think the number of African-American voters who came out for Obama certainly had an impact on other state and local races," said Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University.
The surge in black voter turnout may have impacted other races throughout the area, as well.
Evelyn Powell, a black woman and political newcomer, unseated third-term Edgecombe County Commissioner Calvin Anderson, winning 72 percent of the vote in the process. No Republican filed for the office, so Tuesday's primary likely will decide who will take the oath of office. For the first time in years, the board could consist of a 4-3, black majority.
"I'm not sure of how exactly it impacted it, but I'm sure the large number of voters had an impact on the commissioner's race," Edgecombe County Democratic Party Chairwoman Genotre Penny-Boone said. "Either way, sometimes we need a majority of another race. That's healthy, I think."
Also in Edgecombe County, third-term N.C. Sen. Clark Jenkins, ranked highly among state legislators, narrowly defeated perennial candidate Shelly Willingham, a black man, with a single-digit victory. Jenkins beat Willingham by less than 400 votes in Edgecombe County, but won overall, 16,000 to 13,000 as other parts of the district favored the incumbent senator.
In 2006, with a 12 percent voter turnout, Jenkins handily defeated Willingham in the same race by a much larger count – a near 20 percent margin.
Young voters also turned out in larger-than-average numbers across the state, but it's unclear how that voting bloc may have impacted other races.
"The most important thing was making sure everyone had an opportunity to vote," Davis said.
Regardless of race, gender, age or wealth, that seemed to be the case Tuesday, she said.
"This really opened my eyes to a lot of things," Davis said. "I feel like we're more prepared for November."
After all, the Nov. 4 general election is less than six months away.
