news-record.com

GREENSBORO — As of Friday, 637 of Greensboro’s registered voters had cast ballots in the municipal primary, according to the Guilford County Board of Elections.

That’s near the total number of early voters from the most recent municipal primary.

The last chance to vote early in the primary is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Old County Courthouse, 301 West Market Street.

Primary day is Tuesday.

“I supported one particular candidate for at-large,” said Dale Whitfield, who stopped by the Old County Courthouse in downtown Greensboro to vote Friday.

Whitfield, who lives near Lake Jeanette, said he wanted candidates who could get along better on City Council, so he voted for non-incumbents.

There are 11 candidates vying for three open at-large seats. Six will emerge from the primary. There also are primaries in four of the five Greensboro City Council districts. There is no primary for District 5 or mayor.

Early voters such as Whitfield have been on the rise through the last three elections.

In 2005, there were 366 early voters in the municipal primary. That figure nearly doubled to 721 in 2007.

But most voters still appear on regular election days for municipal elections.

Four percent of registered voters participated in the 2007 municipal primary, according to Guilford County. Twenty percent of registered voters voted in the November 2007 municipal election.

By comparison, 69 percent of registered voters in Guilford County voted in last year’s presidential election.

Election Day this year is Nov. 3, and early voting for that begins Oct. 25.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com