In the upcoming primary election on March 5, Chapel Hill and Carrboro voters will not have any local races on their ballots. However, voters in the rest of Orange County will participate in filling county school board seats and selecting a Democratic commissioner candidate for District 2.
Orange County follows a district primary system, where all voters participate in the at-large commissioner’s primary. Voters in District 1, which includes Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will vote in the District 1 race in the primary. Meanwhile, voters in the remainder of the county will participate in the District 2 primary race.
Orange County Voting (Credits: CalMatters)
The winners of the at-large and district races in the primary will be elected by voters countywide in November. Given the county’s Democratic-leaning nature and few Republican candidates, local races are typically decided in the primary.
For this year’s election, Democratic candidates in District 1 and for the at-large seat are running unopposed and will only appear on the November 5 ballot.
The sole Republican candidate for commissioner, H. Nathan Robinson, will compete in November against the winner of the contested Democratic primary in District 2.
Voters can cast their ballots on March 5 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early voting is available through March 2, allowing voters to register and vote on the same day at any Early Voting polling location.
