Key political races that will play a role in shaping the future of Goldsboro and Wayne County will be decided in Tuesday’s general election.
Registered voters can vote from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, at their assigned precinct. Voters can call the Wayne County Board of Elections at (919) 731-1411 or check their eligibility and precinct at vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup.
Voters will be asked to show a photo ID when they vote. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without ID. Anyone lacking an ID can get one for free from their county board of elections. To learn more visit ncsbe.gov/voter-id.
Registered voters who live within the boundaries of the City of Goldsboro may vote in the municipal election.
In the Oct. 10 primary election, just 2,886 of the 20,867 registered voters actually voted. According to the Wayne County Board of Elections 2,631 registered voters took advantage of early voting for Tuesday’s general election.
The Goldsboro Mayoral race features Raymond Smith Jr. and Charles Gaylor.
A Goldsboro native and Goldsboro High School graduate, Smith was elected as the first African American to serve in the At-Large seat of the Wayne County Public Schools Board of Education from 2017-2019 before being elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 2019. He served in the House of Representatives from 2019-2023.
Gaylor was appointed to Goldsboro City Council District 5 in November 2021, and he is currently the Senior Staff Attorney serving Community Care of North Carolina, Inc. Gaylor is also a former Associate Vice President and Small Business Center Director at Wayne Community College, and a former Associate Engineer at 3TEX, Inc.
Both Smith and Gaylor shared concerns about the lack of voter participation following the Oct. 10 primary.
“I think there will be tremendous interest in the upcoming election,” Smith said. “I want to increase voter turnout and I want voters to understand the importance of local elections. In order for municipal elections to increase in turnout, I don’t know there’s anything besides voter education that can increase voter turnout. It is going to require a tremendous effort.”
Gaylor echoed Smith’s sentiments regarding voter turnout saying, “It’s incredibly frustrating.” “Go and look at those campaign finance reports and the money that was spent. Go and look at the time that goes into six mayoral candidates, and three District 5 candidates, all doing everything they can to explain to voters that there’s a primary going on, and there’s a reason they should care. And all nine of us combined were able to get 13 percent of the registered voters to actually vote? It’s insane when you have nine people doing everything they can think of to get people to vote.”
Also on the ballot are six Goldsboro City Council races. Hiawatha Jones and Yvonnia Moore are contending for the District 1 seat. Chris Boyette and Kal Butt are on the ballot for District 2, while Jamie Taylor and Myelle Thompson are both vying for District 3.
Brandi Matthews and Sadie Baldwin Simmons are contending for the District 4 seat, while Phyllis Merritt-James and Beverly Weeks are in the District 5 race. The District 6 race features Steve Taylor and Roderick White.
A complete list of candidates in Tuesday’s general election can be found on the Wayne County Board of Elections website.
Follow Goldsborodailynews.com throughout Tuesday evening for primary election results.
