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Much discussion is taking place behind the scenes to avoid fatiguing runoff elections, particularly at the statewide level.
John Tedesco, a Republican state superintendent candidate, is quietly using intermediaries to ask his runoff rival Richard Alexander not to push for an overtime contest and trying to align the support of those he beat.
Two other candidates remain uncertain on whether they will challenge in the July 17 runoff.
Two online petition campaigns about North Carolina's constitutional marriage amendment are drawing thousands of supporters the day after the election.
One of them is demanding the immediate repeal of Amendment One, the name opponents gave the ballot referendum, which passed by 61 percent. (It technically wasn't numbered since there was only one amendment on the ballot.) By noon, it generated about 67,000 signatures from across the nation. The goal is 1 million.
The second effort is titled "Move the National Convention OUT of North Carolina." It asks the Democratic National Convention Committee to drop Charlotte as the site of September's party confab in protest to the amendment's passage. It has about 17,500 signatures at noon Wednesday.
Addendum: Democratic ad man Frank Eaton turned the camera on himself this morning and posts a campaign-commercial like rebuttal to the amendment's passage. Watch here.
North Carolina approved an amendment Tuesday to enshrine a ban on gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in the state constitution -- a vote that received international attention.
To put it in perspective, the amendment passed 61 percent to 39 percent -- the second lowest approval rating in the South, more than Virginia's 57 percent and less than Florida's 62 percent.
Nationwide, North Carolina voters gave it a higher percentage approval than eight states but less than 22 others.
The unofficial turnout stat for Tuesday's primary election: 34.37 percent.
State election officials and anecdotal reports from election day suggested the turnout this year could surpass four years ago -- driven mostly by interest in the constitutional marriage amendment -- but it fell shy.
In the 2008 primary -- featuring a heated battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- 36.86 percent of voters went to the polls.
But more people did vote in 2012 (read: population growth) at 2,164,074 compared to 2,125,215 in 2008.
As North Carolina polls prepared to close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, state election officials suggested voter turnout could reach 2008’s high-water mark or possibly exceed the 37 percent threshold.
The strong voter interest on primary election day, combined with record early voting numbers, is a result of a referendum on whether to enshrine a ban on gay marriage and civil unions into the constitution.
The extra attention is coming with a few voting problems. At least three people in Chatham County received ballots this morning without the amendment question and similar problems were reported elsewhere in the state, including Winston-Salem. State election officials called the irregularities isolated.
Read the full story from today's voting here and check newsobserver.com for continuous updates on election results throughout the night.
UPDATED: President Barack Obama was scheduled, albeit briefly, to visit North Carolina on Election Day to make an speech in Asheville about the economy.
The White House sent the notice Wednesday last week but reversed course about five hours later, according to a North Carolina congressional office notified about the visit. The false alarm isn't unprecedented -- but the fact the White House even considered traveling to the state on primary election day is interesting.
A controversial vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions is on today's ballot. Obama issued a statement against the amendment earlier this year -- but polls show it is likely to win by a solid margin.
At least three people in Chatham County were given the wrong ballot while trying to vote Tuesday.
Poll workers in Chatham County accidentally handed out ballots to at least three voters without Amendment 1 on them. For the primary election there are different ballots for voters 17 and under who will turn 18 before the general election in November, those ballots do not include the marriage amendment.
One woman filed a formal complaint by e-mail with Chatham County's Board of Elections, said Dawn Stumpf, director of elections for Chatham County. The wrong ballots were give out right as polls opened at 6:30 a.m. at the Hickory Mountain precinct at Pleasantville United Methodist Church, she said.
A much-debated constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions kept a steady flow of voters streaming into polling places across North Carolina on Tuesday.
The referendum – which polls show is expected to easily pass – helped boost a low-profile primary election and set an early voting record with more than 500,000 votes cast before the polls opened at 6:30 a.m.
Click here for a continually updated election day story talking to voters at the polls.
It's not too late to enter Dome's election pool to crown the ultimate North Carolina pundit -- or at least the one who makes the best guesses on today's primary election.
Click here to find out how to play and submit your entry. All are welcome and prizes go to the winner. Entries will be accepted through 3 p.m. today. And read below on Dome for election coverage that can help you make your picks. Good luck.
A long list of Republican and Democratic statewide candidates are making bids for the party nominations. Here's a recap of our coverage:
--Democratic governor's race: Walter Dalton, Bob Etheridge, Bill Faison and three other candidates. Dalton leads in the money race and polls, but after the final days of campaigning, the contest tightened ahead of Tuesday.
--Republican governor's race: Pat McCrory is cruising to victory.
--Democratic lieutenant governor's race got testy. The state employees association also played a role.
--Republican lieutenant governor's race includes a crowded field.
Other statewide races: state auditor, state superintendent, secretary of state, state treasurer, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner and labor commissioner. Here's a recap on the money race and polls (though some polling numbers now outdated).
