Live updates: Here's what voters say what brought them to the polls on Super Tuesday in Asheville
The polls are open on Super Tuesday for the North Carolina primary elections, and the Citizen Times will be bringing you live updates throughout the day. Reporters will be out at the polls in Asheville, Buncombe County and elsewhere in Western North Carolina talking to voters as they choose who will be running in the November general elections. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. After that, we'll have the latest results as they come in.
Here are some things to know:
Here's a Super Tuesday overview by reporter Mitch Black.
All of our coverage in one place by reporter Sarah Honosky.
Reporter Joel Burgess looks at the District 11 congressional races.
Honosky looks at Asheville City Council candidates.
Black reports on Buncombe County commission candidates.
Also from Black, a look at Buncombe clerk of court.
N.C. State Reporter Sarah Gleason writes about the North Carolina governor candidates.
Gleason also looks at candidates running for the state lieutenant governor seat.
1:40 p.m.: Black Mountain voters' trouble
Voters have come to Black Mountain Primary School hoping to cast a vote, but are being told they are at the wrong polling place.
One voter in this position, Emily Cameron, said she does not “understand it.”
“I’m at the wrong precinct, which makes no sense to me,” Cameron said. “This is a tiny town. Why are there so many places to vote?”
— Karrigan Monk
1:25 p.m.: Looking for another choice
Mitch Fruecht came out to vote undecided on the Democratic primary ballot, where he hopes "another candidate comes out of the ashes" of the current Democratic Primary.
Fruecht, who was voting at the Oakley-Murphy Community Center, noted his main reason was the Israel-Hamas war which has killed tens of thousands in Gaza. He hopes for someone a little younger than Biden.
"I've always wanted a younger candidate," Fruecht said.
— Will Hofmann
1:05 p.m.: Report from Hendersonville
Joan O'Hara came out to cast her ballot at Hendersonville High. She said she voted straight Republican, mainly because she was tired of paying too much for groceries.
"I hope the local people I voted for appreciate this," she said.
— Dean Hensley
12:50 p.m.: Affordability a top issue
Emily Thompson stopped at Oakley-Murphy Community Center with her two children during North Carolina's Super Tuesday. For Thompson, the issues of cost of living and affordability were at the top of her mind.
Thompson said Asheville City Council candidate Bo Hess' statements "seemed to resonate" with her.
Thompson also noted another aspect of the election: voter exhaustion. "I think voters are growing tired and inundated with extreme views," Thompson said of the election.
— Will Hofmann
12:35 p.m.: First-time voter in Black Mountain
Wilson Davis, 18, came out to the polls at Black Mountain Primary School for his first time voting.
“It’s a rite of passage,” Davis said.
He said no particular race drew him out, but he wanted to support relative Jean Marie Christy, who is running for Buncombe County Clerk of Court.
Some voters are coming to Black Mountain Primary School as the wrong polling location and are being told to go to Black Mountain Elementary School, another voting location in the area.
Barbara Wall, who is campaigning for the Democratic Party, said it has been a “slow day” so far.
— Karrigan Monk
12:25 p.m.: 'Disenfranchised' with City Council
Finding that homelessness, housing and cost of living were some of the most important issues in Asheville, Pat Burton said that he felt "somewhat disenfranchised with all of City Council."
As for the presidential election, Burton said he voted for Donald Trump: "I voted for Trump, but he's not my favorite."
Recently moving from Florida to Asheville, David Usko defines himself as an independent voter, where democracy was the most important issue in this election.
Pulling the lever for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, Usko noted he "had a hard time with Trump" alongside "dysfunctionality in Congress."
"I was just compelled to vote for Nikki," Usko said, noting the nation needs someone who brings people together.
— Will Hofmann
12:15 p.m.: 'Get rid of Biden'
Gerard Robinson of Canton, who came out to vote with his wife, Betty Jean, said his concerns are about the economy, immigration and “voting to get rid of Biden.”
The Robinsons visited Canton Branch Library to vote but found out they needed to go to Beaverdam Community Center to vote. This was happening to quite a few people.
— Carole Terrell
12:10 p.m.: County commission a priority
Standing outside the Avery's Creek Community Center, Paula Brewer, 65, said she was motivated to vote in part because of the Buncombe County commissioners race.
“I came to vote to make sure who I want gets in,” Brewer said, adding she voted for Paul Benjamin.
“He’s more conservative, and I want to see less high density growth.”
— Ryley Ober
Noon: A scramble for parking at Oakley
As voters made their way to the ballot box at Oakley-Murphy Community Center, another major decision had to be made on where to park amid ongoing construction in the main parking lot. Overflow is located at Oakley Elementary school.
Leslie Hennessee-Patrick said there are "so many things that need to be changed and addressed," noting that on local homelessness and affordable housing issues, she supported the efforts of Kim Roney and Sage Turner for City Council.
Hennessee-Patrick said she intended to bring out her grandchildren after they are off school.
— Will Hofmann
11:50 a.m.: Voting for qualified candidates
Stephanie Carson, 46, voted at West Asheville Library.
She walked to the library with her dog.
“I vote for everything every election, but I specifically voted today because I wanted to make sure we have qualified candidates on the ballot," she said. "So, for the first time ever I voted for a Republican nominee. I voted for Nikki Haley because I cannot have Trump on the ballot. We, as a country, it’s not safe, and I may not agree with all her politics, but I do think that she’s well-intentioned. I would like to have two well-intentioned options on the ballot.”
“Once you choose the Republican ballot you can’t select any Democratic candidates, so I only voted for Nikki Haley and for Sage Turner for City Council. That’s unfortunate. I feel kind of left out of the other races, but it was worth it to do what I can to try to see if she can win the state.”
Regarding Sage Turner and City Council, Carson said: “I love her. She’s so proactive and she’s constantly invested. She’s proven that she’s been invested in the city way before she ended up on City Council and since she’s been on the council, she’s meant what she said and she’s acted.”
— Tiana Kennell
11:43 a.m.: A vote for Biden at Avery's Creek
Joe Myers, 83, came out to vote at Avery's Creek Community Center because “I had to vote for Joe Biden and Jeff Jackson.”
“I think Biden’s been a good president and I think he’ll be much better than Trump,” Myers said. “I’m not happy with some of the things he’s done but most I have been, and I’m not happy with anything Trump has done.”
Myers said he chose Jackson for attorney general because he’s been an “unbelievable good congressperson because he’s kept his constituents up to date on everything going on in the House of Representatives, which is a lot.”
Myers, who has in lived in the Arden area for about eight years, said Jackson sends updates out every two weeks, which Myers has “never seen before.”
— Ryley Ober
11:35 a.m.: Reports say Facebook has crashed on Super Tuesday
Around 9 a.m., hundreds of thousands of users reported Facebook being down during one of the biggest election days of the year, according to Downdetector.
Many users were reporting being logged out of Facebook accounts with no ability to log back in. There also were reports of issues with Instagram and WhatsApp.
— Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY
11:25 a.m.: Report from Bell Elementary — housing, tourism, immigration key issues
Charles C. Bell Elementary saw first-time voters and a focus on local elections as the North Carolina primary begins.
Rose Goldfarb came out to vote the morning of Super Tuesday at the school, emphasizing the importance of local elections and expressed passionate support for attorney general candidate Jeff Jackson. Goldfarb noted Jackson felt "honest" for his open media presence and communication.
As for local issues, Goldfarb highlighted one: housing.
"Definitely affordable housing," Goldfarb said of Asheville's City Council race. "It's pretty tough to live in Asheville for some. It'd be nice to fix that."
David Wright came to vote for two candidates in particular: Donald Trump and Mark Robinson. Wright highlighted issues of immigration and national defense as the primary issues he was looking at in this election.
"They're the only hope we've got in America," Wright said.
First-time voter Anna Wilcox stopped with her mom, Sarah Wilcox, on her way to basketball practice.
Though not particularly passionate about a candidate, Anna Wilcox said she was "excited to exercise her right as a U.S. citizen," celebrating the affair with her mom on the way out of the polling place.
Kaila Tolsma said she was particularly engaged by the local elections, noting she feels they have "so much more impact" than some national elections.
Tolsma was passionate about one factor impacting Asheville, that being tourism.
"We should steer away from tourism and focus more on those who live in the area," Tolsma said.
— Will Hofmann
11:10 a.m.: Voting for City Council in West Asheville
Melissa Weiss, 48, voted at West Asheville Library.
“There’s a few people running for City Council that I really wanted to make sure I voted for, and I also wanted to send a message to the Biden campaign, so I wanted to vote no preference,” she said.
For City Council: “Kim Roney, Bo Hess and Lindia (Pearson). They seem to be the people that care about the people who live in this town in a way that aligns with my values — affordable housing, using mental health services and services like that instead of police, and making transportation more accessible.”
— Tiana Kennell
11 a.m.: Turnout so far in Buncombe County
A news release sent at 10:49 a.m. from Buncombe County spokesperson Lilian Govus said more than 5,000 voters had turned out to the polls by 10 a.m. this morning. Here's the release:
"The 2024 Primary Election is underway across Buncombe County, and the polls have been open since 6:30 a.m. As of 10 a.m., 5,226 voters have turned out to the County’s 80 precincts. So far, 26,149 voters have taken advantage of early voting and just more than 1,400 absentee ballots have been received. You can see a breakdown of how many people voted at each precinct here. So far, Pisgah Elementary School has experienced the highest turnout with 126 voters, and more than 10 other voting locations are seeing more than 100 people. Those who haven’t voted yet can check the wait counts here."
10:55 a.m.: 'Women's issues' a big motivator
Mable Grein, 74, said she showed up to vote at Averys Creek Community Center to “show support for my president,” Joe Biden. Grein said she was motivated mainly by “women’s issues.”
“I think women should have autonomy over their own bodies,” Grein said. “I’m tired of men telling what we can and can’t do.”
Grein said she’s been in the Arden area for about two years, and moved here from California because it was cheaper to live here and the area has “liberal bent” that she felt she fits in with. “I’m committed to the idea that Biden stay in office for another four years,” Grein said.
Larry Grein, husband of Mable and an election official, said the turnout has been “surprisingly brisk for a primary election,” he thinks because most everything on the ballot is contested.
Grein, 75, said he and the other election officials voted earlier in the day to make sure the machines are working. “I wanted to vote to make sure people know there are people voting, especially in my age group,” Grein said. He said if the government runs on the consent of the governed, then people have to participate.
— Ryley Ober
10:35 a.m.: Gaza situation leads to "no preference" vote
Jacquline Nichols, 28, voted at Crossroads Church.
She was with a toddler boy. She said she came out because of “the ceasefire in Gaza. Voting no preference was really my big reason today.”
No particular race drove her to vote, she said. For City Council: “I voted for CJ (Domingo). I really liked that he had a clear plan on his goals and ambitions on his website, and I could clearly see what he wanted to do instead of being like, ‘I’m a good person, you should vote for me.’”
— Tiana Kennell
10:20 a.m.: All races are of interest
Jeremy Spielman, 45, voted at West Asheville Library.
He said he came out for everything, all of the races.
“I wanted to do my civic duty and make sure my voice was heard,” he said.
“Making sure local, I know about it. And the bigger picture, that I’m staying informed and encouraging my neighbors and my peers to have their voice heard.”
For City Council, he voted for Bo (Hess), Sage (Turner) and Kim (Roney), “for representation and balance,” he said.
— Tiana Kennell
10:07 a.m.: A Swift call
There had been conspiracy theories that Taylor Swift was part of an elaborate scheme to help the Democrats win in this year's election. Swift has weighed in on Super Tuesday, but she did not publicly choose sides.
9:45 a.m. Reciprocating McCormick Field funding votes
Al Peeler, 34, voted at West Asheville Library.
He said he came out for president.
“Also, I think it’s important for Jeff Jackson to be our Attorney General," he said. "And City Council, when the ballpark was needing its renovations there were several council members that gave that vote and so they earned my vote again. I came out here to reciprocate — Kim Roney and Sage Turner.”
— Tiana Kennell
9:30 a.m.: Voter guide for counties outside of Buncombe
Dean Hensley of the Hendersonville Times-News has compiled a list of candidates and information for voters heading to the polls in Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties.
9:25 a.m.: Race for governor key
Tad and Laura Lock, 20-year residents of Fairview, cast their votes for the primary election at the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, amid a slow trickle of people at the voting site. Laura, 59, said alongside feeling it’s “our duty” to vote, she was motivated by three key issues — the border, the economy, and her pro-life stance.
“We like Mark Robinson to become governor because he seems to respect our values,” Tad Lock said, adding that race motivated him to come out to the polls.
Lock, 64, said his “main thing” is a desire to “get a hold of inflation.” He said he’s caring for his 90-year-old mother and has seen food prices “skyrocket.” He cast his Republican presidential primary vote for Donald Trump, he said.
“I don’t care who you vote for, I just get mad when people don’t vote,” Lock said. “My parents instilled that in me from the first time I could vote at 18.”
— Ryley Ober
9:15 a.m.: Presidential races bring out voters at Haw Creek
Asheville resident Ken Miller was voting for Joe Biden. The biggest motivator to swing the lever for Biden was maintaining democracy.
"We either continue to develop democracy or democracy will degrade," Miller said, noting that he had stopped at the wrong precinct but was on his way to find the correct one.
Amy Smith, coming out Haw Creek Elementary around 8:25, said she was voting for Biden. Smith said she thought about the "United States on a world stage" and the importance of maintaining democracy when she went to vote for the presidential candidate. Stopping on her way to work, Karla Gardner noted that housing was the most important issue to her as she went to vote for Asheville City Council.
— Will Hofmann
9:10 a.m.: City Council a draw to the polls
Herbert Yancey voted at West Asheville Library.
“I came out to exercise your democratic vote and responsibility to vote and feel like if you want to have an opinion on things you should probably cast your ballot and at least make some type of choice," he said.
“Everyone’s always looking at the big, high ticket presidential, governor races but I think also council is one that has an important effect on us locally, so I also voted in that one, too. For City Council, I definitely voted for Tod Leaven. I think there should be some new blood in the City Council, and Lindia and Bo Hess, as well. I was looking at new faces in there. The council’s fine but I think it’s also good to get some new faces, new blood every so often.
“I’m an unaffiliated voter so I voted on the Republican side of it and I voted for Chuck Edwards because I think although I have a lot of problems with his political stances I think he’s a better candidate than Christian Reagan.”
— Tiana Kennell
9 a.m.: Activity at Haw Creek
Voters brought dogs, coffee mugs and made quick trips through the Haw Creek Elementary gym as they went to vote during the March 5 North Carolina primary.
Arriving just before 7 a.m. District Court Judge candidate Todd Lentz was passing out business cards to voters as they made their way to the spacious, wooden floored gym. Only around 31 had voted at the location by around 8:30 a.m.
Despite the morning being "slow," Lentz stuck around.
"I went to school here, so I thought I'd start here," Lentz said.
— Will Hofmann
8:45 a.m.: Longtime voter
Ron Hopewell, 72, of Fairview, walked out of Cane Creek Middle School after filling in his votes. He said he comes to vote every year and did so at 7 in the morning because he’s an “early bird.” Hopewell is registered unaffiliated and didn’t want to share the candidates he voted for this morning.
— Ryley Ober
8:30 a.m.: Zooming out
Are you looking for some general coverage of what's happening around the country on Super Tuesday? USA TODAY is running live coverage of today's primaries. It cites the North Carolinian gubernatorial primary as one of the key races to watch in the country.
8:15 a.m.: Report from Cane Creek
Anne Ager, head of Precinct 38.2 committee for the Buncombe County Democratic Party, sat outside Cane Creek Middle School, manning her booth since 6:30 a.m. Ager voted early this year, but said about 10 or 12 people had come through this polling site by 7:35 a.m. She said she voted for Democrats but isn’t putting a stake on any one candidate for this primary vote. Ager said she voted because “it’s important and I’ve been doing politics all my life,” calling it a “family thing” as the mother of state Rep. Eric Ager and wife of former state Rep. John Ager, along with a dad who ran for Congress in the 1980s.
— Ryley Ober
8 a.m.: Later results?
In past elections, as soon at the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., the North Carolina State Board of Elections would release the results from early voting. But that won't be the case this year. Here's an explainer from a news release by Buncombe County's Kassi Day:
As a result of recent changes in state law, in-person early voting results will be reported later than usual on election night for the 2024 primary. This, in turn, may cause Election Day results to be reported later as well. Previously, county boards of elections could tabulate early voting results before the close of polls, then report those results almost immediately at 7:30 p.m. on election night. Under changes made in Session Law 2023-140 (Section 29), county boards must wait until 7:30 p.m. to “close the polls” on early voting tabulators and begin the process of counting and reporting results of ballots cast during the early voting period. This process will take an estimated 30 to 60 minutes – and possibly longer in some counties – before unofficial early voting results can be posted publicly on the State Board of Elections’ Election Results Dashboard.
7:30 a.m.: Wait counts
Worried about how many people will be in line at your voting site? Buncombe County's election services has a cool tool that provides wait counts at each of the county's 80 polling sites. Note that the numbers are estimates and are entered only as often as election workers are able to. Still, it's fun to see where the voting action is. At 7:30, the site reported that Emma Elementary was the busiest with four people in line.
7:10 a.m.: Voter turnout in Buncombe
Mitchell Black reported that according to county tracking, 26,149, or 12.7% of the county's 205,648 registered voters in Buncombe voted early. Buncombe County Elections Services Director Corinne Duncan said at a March 4 news conference that she expects between 25,000 to 30,000 voters to punch their ballots on Election Day. That would put voter turnout for this primary at about 27%, lower than the 42% turnout for the 2020 primary.
7 a.m.: Make sure you have your ID
A new state law requires all voters to show photo ID when they go to the polls. According to state guidelines, these are acceptable IDs (unexpired or expired no more than a year):
N.C. driver’s license.
State ID from N.C. DMV.
Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory. This only applies to voters registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election.
U.S. passport or U.S. passport card.
N.C. voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections.
College or university student ID approved by the N.C. Board of Elections.
State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the N.C. Board of Elections.
6:50 a.m.: Find your voting site
If you need help finding your voting location, enter your name in the N.C. State Board of Election's Voter Search Tool: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/.
6:40 a.m.: A good day for voting
While Asheville has had plenty of wet or even snowy weather in early March, that will not be the case today, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast for the Asheville area is for increasing clouds throughout the day with a high of 69. Showers are not expected until after 11 p.m., hours after the polls close at 7:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC primary: The latest updates on Super Tuesday voting in Asheville area
