• Polls open at 6:30 a.m.; light turnout expected.

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Voters in most area towns will go to the polls tomorrow to select their leaders for the next few years.

Countywide voters will also have the chance to approve or disapprove a new quarter-cent sales tax (see sidebar).

If early voting numbers are any indication, turnout will be light tomorrow.

Board of Elections Director Carla Strickland said 401 residents cast ballots during the early voting period. Early voting ended Saturday at 1 p.m.

Fewer provisional ballots were cast this year than usual, Strickland said. Part of the reason behind that change may be the new same-day registration rules for early voting.

“We had several voters take advantage of the same-day registration,” Strickland said, “and I think that cut down on our provisionals.”

Provisional ballots are distributed when there is a question about a voter’s status. The ballot counts the same as a regular ballot, but officials must verify the voter’s registration information before it is added to the final tally.

Same-day voting is allowed only during the early voting process, Strickland said.

“I had several people say they’d bring someone back Tuesday (Election Day) to register and vote,” Strickland said, “and I had to remind them it ended with early voting.”

In area municipal elections, several races are contested. Write-in candidates are playing more of a role in this year’s election than usual in several local towns.

• At Lake Waccamaw, two write-in candidates are vying for the East Ward town commissioner seat held by Earl Harris. Roland Wagner announced his write-in campaign last week, and former mayor pro tem Cathy Neilson also made a post-filing bid for the seat. While Mayor Ivan Wilson is unopposed, incumbent West Ward commissioner Teddy Tedder faces two challengers, Lynn Cain and Curtis Andrews.

• In Whiteville, incumbent Mayor Dial Gray faces a challenge from Councilman Tim Blackmon for the town’s top seat. Incumbent District Two Councilman Jimmy Clarida, and District One Councilmen Howard Jones and Robert Leder are unopposed.

• Tabor City Mayor Royce Harper is unopposed, but five candidates are running for the two seats available on the town council. Challengers Trent Burroughs, Nellie Mae Vereene, and Lee Baxter are attempting to unseat incumbents Miona Fonvielle and Mark Stocks.

• In Sandyfield, Mayor Perry Dixon is challenged by town council member Annette Williams. Challenger Claudia Bray, incumbents Azalie Graham and Joe Brown are running for the three open seats on the town council.

• In Bolton, Mayor Frank Wilson is unopposed. Incumbents Pearl Mills, Mae Neal, and Geraldine Jenkins are joined by challenger Ruth Waddell for the board of aldermen. Three seats are open on the Bolton board this year.

• In Brunswick, Everlene Davis and Jackie Williams-Rowland are unchallenged for the seats they currently hold on the town board of commissioners.

• Cerro Gordo residents also apparently approve of their town’s leadership, since incumbent Mayor Sonny Hammond and councilmen Jackie Jenkins and Wilbur Powell are unopposed.

• Fair Bluff, which saw a residency challenge before the Board of Elections earlier this year, has three candidates for the two town commissioner seats open. Incumbents Jack Meares Jr. and Carl Meares Jr. are joined by Chris Scott in the race for the town board. John Wayne Phillips withdrew from the race earlier this fall.

• In Chadbourn, Mayor Kenneth Waddell is challenged by write-in candidate Edwin L. Roberts. Incumbent town councilmen Fax Rector, Brian Edwards and Larry Williamson face Billy Leonard and Donald Ray Bass in the race for the three seats on the town council there.

Not all local towns will choose leaders next week. The town of Boardman will hold elections again in 2009.

Election results will be announced at the Board of Elections office as they come in Tuesday, but campaign-watchers can get almost immediate results without leaving home.

Strickland said elections workers plan to post results to the county website as soon as they are available, starting a short time after the polls close at 7:30 p.m. The website address is columbusco.org. Click on the tab for the Board of Elections on the left side of the screen.