Voter Turnout Anemic For NC's Runoff Primaries

The executive director of the State Board of Elections expects turnout to match or barely eclipse 2.5 percent, a low set in recent years during a Republican labor commissioner race and an appellate judicial race.

Executive Director Gary Bartlett says voting has picked up throughout the day in areas with hotly contested races, such as in Mecklenburg and Union counties. He says some turnouts in eastern counties are "not even close" to 1 percent.

Voters already picked their party favorites in the May 8 primary, but some first-place candidates failed to receive the more than 40 percent needed to win outright, requiring the top two vote-getters to advance to a runoff.