Mid-term elections turnouts boost turnout

On November 2, 2010, citizens of Guilford County were encouraged to exercise their civic duty and race to the polls for mid-term elections.  In these mid-term elections, nearly 139,400 ballots were cast, out of a possible 350,127 registered voters.  The voter turn-out for this election doubled the number of last year’s results – with 39.8 percent as opposed to 2009’s 18 percent.  According to results, the straight party vote (which is where a voter votes strictly for their preferred party) held a favor with Democrats (51.9 percent) ousting Republicans by a small margin (47.6 percent).  The remainder of the straight party vote belonged to those who cast their vote as Libertarian at .42 percent.  Perhaps the most discussed categories this election year were the U.S. Senate and U.S. House races.  Citizens of Guilford County chose to elect Republican Richard Burr for the senate seat by 50.2 percent, maintaining a slight edge over Democratic candidate Elaine Marshall, with 47.8 percent. 

During the course of these mid-term elections, the race between Richard Burr and Elaine Marshall was highly publicized, complete with mud-slinging and bashing from both sides. Both Burr and Marshall heavily encouraged voters to get out and make a difference, with representatives from their campaigns going door-to-door, making phone calls and passing out flyers.   For the U.S. House race, districts twelve and thirteen were largely Democrat, electing Mel Watt and Brad Miller, with percents as high as 70 percent.  This is Mel Watt’s eighteenth year in Congress, and in 2005, he was elected as the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).  Districts 57, 58, 59 and 60 also voted Democrat electing Mary Price Harrison, Alma Adams, Maggie Jeffus, and Marcus Brandon.  Districts 61 and 62 favored Republican – John Faircloth and John M. Blust, with percentages ranging from 83.6 percent to a clean sweep of 100 percent. 

Moving to the North Carolina State senate, district 33 was fully Republican, electing Stan Bingham.  The District Attorney results for district eighteen were a clean sweep, favoring Democrat J.  Douglass Henderson.  The Board of Commissioners results for districts one, six and nine elected Democrats – Bruce Davis, Kay Cashion, and Carolyn Q. Coleman, while districts two and three elected Republican – Bill Bencini and Linda O. Shaw.  The Clerk of Superior Court vote went to Democratic candidate David L. Churchill, with 100 percent of the vote.  The race for Sherriff wasn’t such a huge landslide, with citizens ultimately electing Republican BJ Barnes, who held 59.8 percent of the vote. 

Moving on to more broad categories, citizens of Guilford County voted for the Constitutional amendment by a large margin – 81.1 percent.  The Constitutional amendment states that there can be changes to the constitution of a nation or state.  Guilford county sales tax and use tax was voted against by a small margin – 48.6 percent were in favor while 51.4 percent were against.  The last race that was much talked about during mid-term elections were the candidates for the Court of Appeals judge.  There were thirteen candidates running.  Voters elected Cressie Thigpen, with 18.9 percent of the vote, while Stan Hammer followed closely behind with 15.2 percent of the vote. 

Overall, voter turnout for 2010’s mid-term elections increased greatly as opposed to in years past, largely due to America’s economic struggle, the struggle for healthcare and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.