In-person early voting for the primary election in Craven County begins next week.
Craven County voters will have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 to register to vote for primary election candidates running for Craven County offices, state judges, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate. Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters, according to the NC State Board of Elections website.
The Craven County Board of Elections began sending absentee ballots on Jan. 12 to voters who submitted a request form, according to the NC State Board of Elections website. The absentee ballot request deadline is Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.
Early voting will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Early voting locations include AMP LLC at 322 E. Main St. in Havelock; the Cove City Fire Department at 425 S. Main St., the Craven County Board of Elections office at 406 Craven St. in New Bern; and the Vanceboro Fire Department, 375 NC 43 Hwy.
The Primary Election Day is March 3 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Absentee ballots need to be returned by 7:30 p.m. that night. Voters must vote at assigned precincts based on their residential address on the Primary Election Day. Find your precinct location here.
During the March primaries, voters will select the nominees for a political party who will move on to the November general election. Affiliated voters will be given a ballot of candidates for their party. Unaffiliated voters can choose the ballot of any party that has a primary.
“If no candidate reaches the vote percentage necessary to become the nominee in a contest on the ballot, a runner-up can request a second primary to be held on May 12. Voters can revisit this page after the primary to see if any contests will have second primaries,” according to the NCSBE website.
On Sep. 4, county boards of elections will start sending absentee ballots for the November general election to voters who requested them. In-person early voting for the November General election starts on Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31. The general election will be held on Nov. 3. More information can be found on the NCBE website here.
On the Democratic ballot in Craven County, voters will elect a candidate for the NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 3.
On the Republican ballot, voters will elect a candidate for three Craven County commissioner seats, the NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1, the U.S. House of Representatives District 1 seat and a U.S. Senate seat.
Primary election candidates
County Commissioners
Republicans John Chittick, Craig Lewis, and Joshua D. Whitford are seeking the Craven County Board of Commissioners District 1 nomination.
ET Mitchell (incumbent) and Guy D. Smith filed to run for the District 4 Commissioner seat in December. On Feb. 4, Commissioner Mitchell announced that she is suspending her re-election campaign and endorsing her Republican primary opponent, Guy Smith, according to a press release. “It is too late for Mitchell to remove her name from the ballot, but she encourages all voters to select Smith in the March 3 primary election,” the release said.
Republicans Denny Bucher (incumbent) and Greg Muse are seeking the nomination for the County Commissioner seat in District 7.
Craven County Board of Education
Tracy Derby and Lauren Riggs Kitzinger (incumbent) are running in the Republican primary for the Board of Education in District 6.
Craven County Sheriff
Chip Hughes (incumbent) and Calvin Williams are running in the Republican primary for Sheriff.
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1
Republican primary candidates Michael C. Bryne and Matt Smith are seeking the NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1 nomination.
NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 3
Democratic primary candidates James Weldon Whalen and Christine Marie Walczyk are seeking the NC Court of Appeals Judge Seat 3 nomination.
U.S. House of Representatives
Republican primary candidates Asa Buck, Laurie Buckhout, Bobby Hanig, Eric Rouse, and Ashley-Nicole Russell are running for the North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
U.S. Senate
Democratic candidates Robert Colon, Roy Cooper, Justin E. Dues, Daryl Farrow, Orrick Quick, and Marcus W. Williams are seeking the nomination for Thom Tillis’s U.S. Senate.
Republican candidates Donald M. “Don” Brown, Richard Dansie, Margot Dupre, Thomas Johnson, Michele Morrow, Elizabeth A. Temple and Michael Whatley are running for Thom Tillis’ U.S. Senate seat.
The NC State Board of Elections voted 3-1 on Feb. 4 that Dupre allegedly didn’t meet residency requirements to run as a Republican primary candidate, based on reports from several news sources. The Carolina Public Press detailed the issue here. We reached out to Dupre for comment, but we have not received a response by press time.
Some races will not be contested until the November General election, such as the Craven County Board of Education District 4, U.S. House of Representatives, and the NC Supreme Court Justice.
Note: A valid photo ID is required when voting in person.
By Wendy Card, Editor. Send an email with questions or comments.