2014 Primary Election Live Blog

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9:34 p.m. – Record staff

The Record staff is shutting down the live blog for the evening and retiring to write our stories. Stay tuned tomorrow morning for more elections coverage and the live blog will be back in November.

If you liked what you read here today, please consider making a donation, which will help fund the local journalism you love and trust.

Check out our ShineBig sideshow for photos from today’s coverage.

And a big thank you to ShineBig’s Tola Oguntoyinbo with help curating today’s visual coverage.

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9:21 p.m. – Ariella Monti

Looks like the state board of election’s website is having some difficulties.

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——————–9:06 p.m. – James Borden
District Attorney candidate Boz Zellinger talks about the results of today’s primaries. Zellinger lost to Lorrin Freeman. ————– 8:49 p.m. – Ariella Monti We’ve been pulling results from the Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.44.20 PM Nancy (Lorrin) Freeman will be the Democratic nominee for District Attorney. Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.45.52 PM The Republican race for Wake District Attorney looks like, at this point, it will still go to a runoff. One candidate must receive 40 percent of the votes to avoid a runoff. Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.48.23 PM ———- 8:37 p.m. – Drew St. Claire Jeff Cruden is a Republican candidate for Wake County District Attorney and is having a private party at Cafe Luna downtown. ———— 8:27 p.m. – Ariella Monti Incumbent Jim Fulghum has a clear lead over challenger Apryl Major. Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.25.19 PM ———————– 8:20 p.m. – Drew St. Claire Democratic Party Headquarters looking very quiet tonight. —————— 8:20 p.m. – Ariella Monti The Wake District Attorney race is looking pretty tight. Candidates need at least 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.15.57 PM Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.17.52 PM ———— 8:12 p.m. – Ariella Monti Wake County incumbent Joe Bryan has a huge lead over challenger Fred Puryear. Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 8.09.33 PM ——————— 7:53 p.m. – Ariella Monti Some numbers are starting to trickle in. We’ve got our eyes on the results screen. ———————— 7:49 p.m. – James Borden Inside a shared conference room at Boz Zellinger’s campaign headquarters at 112 S. Blount Street, his volunteer staff – many of whom were out at the polls since 6:30 a.m. – await the results of today’s primaries. ————– 7:37 p.m. – Karen Tam AB Combs Elementary School polling place had 287 voters at about 6 p.m.

The setting sun poured into the room at AB Combs Elementary School, highlighting the row of voting booths.

Karen Tam

The setting sun poured into the room at AB Combs Elementary School, highlighting the row of voting booths.

——————– 7:30 p.m. – Ariella Monti Polls are CLOSED!!! Come join us for a beer or a cup of coffee to watch the results roll in. We’re at Morning Times! —————– 7:22 p.m. – Ariella Monti With just a few minutes to go before polls close, founding editor Charles Duncan gets the projector going for live results. —————— 7:11 p.m. – Jordan Smith, Powell Drive Park At 7:00, the Powell Community Center has reached 284 votes. ————————- 7:05 p.m. – Drew St. Claire U.S Senate candidate Greg Brannon is having a private party at the Architect lounge on Hargett Street. Along with this Record reporter, ABC News 11, NBC News 17, and Time Warner News are here as well. ——————– 6:51 p.m. – Jordan Smith, Lions Park Volunteers Dave Mallett and Haneef Grant sit outside St. Matthew’s on Bennett Dr. awaiting what they say is a “steady” stream of voters. ————– 6:47 p.m. – James Borden, Raleigh Fire Station No. 11 Allie Pappas and Thomas Bennett are out campaigning for Lorrin Freeman, running for District Attorney, and Sam Bridges, running for Clerk of Superior Court. Collectively they’ve been out here for nearly nine hours. —————– 6:44 p.m. – James Borden, Raleigh Fire Station No. 11 Crystal Oneal was the 398th voter to turn out at Raleigh Fire Station No. 11. She brought her son, Keion, along for the fun. ——————- 6:42 p.m. – Ariella Monti Matthew, one of our favorite supporters, just stopped by. He said he was voter number 151 121 at Freedom Temple at about 6 p.m. —————- 6:30 p.m. – Jennifer Suarez, Morning Times One hour until the polls close! Voted already? Come on by. Still have to vote? Go vote! And then come on by. Election Night Crew —————- 6:19 p.m. – Jordan Smith, Chavis Community Center Chief Judge Gary Greenshields at Chavis Community Center shares that voting is going fine but that it’s certainly an off-year. ————————— 6:00 p.m. – Charles Duncan Getting our pop-up newsroom ready at the Morning Times. —————————– 5:43 p.m. – Ariella Monti Over at Morning Times on Hargett Street to set up for our Election Night party. Come on by and say hello! —————————- 5:17 p.m. – Charles Duncan Politico says Wake is the most important county in the country to watch this election. Read the story here. We’re important, Politico says so. Get out and vote. ————————— 4:46 p.m. – Charles Duncan We want to hear your election stories. Point the browser on your phone to http://raleighpublicrecord.org/upload and send us photos and video. Tell us about your election experience, interview the chief judge at your polling place, talk to us about why you think voting is important. We will share your photos, audio or video here on our live blog. ————————— 4:34 – Charles Duncan Polls are open for another three hours. Haven’t voted yet? Find your polling place here. Still don’t know who to vote for in the Wake DA, judge or Clerk of Court races? Read our Voter Guide. And come join us this evening at the Morning Times at 10 E. Hargett St. for our nonpartisan election party! We’re moving the operation downtown for our pop-up newsroom upstairs at the Times. The coffee and beer will be flowing. We will have a projector set up to watch the results and you can follow along as our reporters cover the local races. ————————— 4:27 – Karen Tam

At about 2 p.m. John Pritchard was the 178th voter at Martin Middle School.

At about 2 p.m. John Pritchard was the 178th voter at Martin Middle School.

p.m. – Karen Tam ————————— 4:22 p.m. – Karen Tam

Campaign workers, Diana Koenning, left and Anna Tilghman, chat in the shade as they wait for voters to arrive at the Unitarian Universalist church polling place.

Campaign workers, Diana Koenning, left and Anna Tilghman, chat in the shade as they wait for voters to arrive at the Unitarian Universalist church polling place.

————————— 3:35 p.m. Voters may want to take their cell phones with them to snap photos or refer to notes about their chosen candidates. But no cell phones are allowed. Let us know on Facebook or Twitter if you’ve seen any problems with this at the polls.

Signs at Daniels Middle School remind voters not to use cell phones.

Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

Signs at Daniels Middle School remind voters not to use cell phones.

____________________________ 3:22 p.m. We’ve noticed a few changes this year at the polls, most of which are related to the changes in voting laws. For example, if voters arrive at the wrong precinct, they used to be allowed to vote on a provisional basis, but this year they are told their vote will not count. Elections officials are informing voters of a new law that takes effect in 2016, when voters will have to present identification before voting. Election officials tell us people are grumbling about it. After being told about the new law, one voter responded to an election official, “Can I see your ID?”

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Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

____________________________ 12:40 p.m. – Karen Tam About 243 people had voted so far at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Whitaker Mill Road.

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Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

Shelly Johnson unhooks her dog, Molly, after she voted at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

____________________________ 11:37 a.m. – Charles Duncan Send us your photos and videos from Election Day! Point your phone to our Share Your Stories page to upload. Get interviewed by the Record! Point that video camera at yourself and tell us how your voting experience was. How many people had already voted at your precinct? Was there a line? Were you asked to provide ID (you don’t have to until 2016)? How smooth was the voting process? And send us photos of those “I Voted” stickers. ————————— 11:21 a.m. – Ariella Monti

Eathrum Monroe, a volunteer with the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, passes out flyers at Method Park.

Eathrum Monroe, a volunteer with the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, passes out flyers at Method Park.

West Raleigh’s Method Park caters to a high student population thanks to it’s proximity to NC State. While turnout is often high during a presidential election, at 11:10am only 64 voters cast ballots.
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10:53 a.m. – Ariella Monti

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It’s been slow at Chavis Community Center in East Raleigh. At 10:45am the voter count stood at 46. Wake County Voter Coalition Precinct Chair Wanda Morgan and volunteer Margo White hand out flyers with the names of Democratic candidates.

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9:46 a.m. – Charles Duncan

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Charles Duncan / Raleigh Public Record

Gene Alston, with The Social Justice Ministry, walks down Wilmington Street with a bullhorn telling people to get out and vote.

Polls are open until 7:30 p.m.
Still not sure where to vote? Find your polling place here.
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At Millbrook Elementary Magnet School, the left door is used for voters and the right door is used by the students at the start of school day.

At 7:35 a.m. there were no voters at the Millbrook Elementary Magnet School. Up to that point they had 30 voters.

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Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

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8:30 a.m. – Jennifer Wig

Only 35 people had voted as of 8:30 this morning at Roberts Park Community Center.

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Still not sure where to vote? Find your polling place here.

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7:10 a.m. – Karen Tam

Early this morning as the sun rises across the city, Bev Manifold, a volunteer with NC Democracy, shows off her T-shirt. She is a nonprofit, non-partisan volunteer to make sure there are no problems voting. She is working today at the polling place at the Green Road Community Center and Park.

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Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

Leon White gives his name as he comes to vote early this morning at the Green Road Community Center and Park. By 7:10 they had about 13 voters.

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Karen Tam / Raleigh Public Record

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7:08 a.m. – Charles Duncan

A reader and chief election judge in Briar Creek sent this in last night.

The reader tells us: “This is the end of Monday night setup for the Brier Creek Community Center. Folks don’t realize all the training, preparation and hours pollworkers put in. I am serving as Chief Judge here tomorrow and I have ladies originally from Singapore, Germany and England. It’s so American!”

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6:57 a.m. – Charles Duncan

We are trying out some cool new software today. Share your photos and video of going to the polls. Send us a video, tell us how busy your polling place was or take a picture of the people you meet voting.

Point your phone to our Share Your Stories page to send photos, video and audio automatically to our newsroom.

http://raleighpublicrecord.org/upload/

Just remember, no phones in the actual polls.

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6:02 a.m. – Charles Duncan

Good morning Raleigh. It’s Election Day! Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close 13 hours later at 7:30 p.m.

Find your polling place here.

Still don’t know who to vote for in the Wake DA or Clerk of Court races? Read our Voter Guide.