Charlotte City Council Primaries Are Tomorrow

Charlotte voters will head to the polls tomorrow to cast primary ballots for city council races, but there probably won't be too many of them. This an odd-numbered year with only city offices on the ballot, so Mecklenburg County Elections Director Michael Dickerson isn't expecting crowds. "We generally get anywhere from a 4-10 percent turnout for the eligible voters for this primary," says Dickerson. Only Charlotte City Council seats are on the ballot. School board is non-partisan and so are all the town councils, commissions and mayors races, so no primaries for those races. "Invariably, I'll always get a call from two or three people from Huntersville, complaining that their precincts aren't open next Tuesday," says Dickerson. Voters will narrow down the five Democratic candidates for city council at-large to four. They'll face the four Republicans in November. The primary will decide the winners for District 2 in northwest Charlotte and District 7 in south Charlotte. The District 7 race is the only Republican primary on this year's ballot. Democratic primaries are also happening for District 3 which covers west and south Charlotte and district five which covers most of the city's east side.