Faith leaders and members of the Black community are asking Raleigh residents to come out and vote Sunday during a Souls to the Polls rally and march.
The event is nonpartisan in an effort to get everyone, whether Republican, Democrat, or unaffiliated, to come together and cast their vote. Early voting for the May primary started Thursday and ends at 3 p.m. May 14, before Election Day on May 17.
This year’s primary includes important races for US Congress, the state legislature, the state Supreme Court, and various courts of appeals. In Wake County, voters will also weigh in on who should serve as sheriff, DA, on the county Board of Commissioners, and on the Cary Town Council. Several races, in districts that are overwhelmingly Democrat or Republican, will be decided during the primaries.
“Every year is an election year in which we vote on the local, state, and federal levels,” Gerald Givens Jr., president of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP said in a news release. “As a result, our greatest freedom in the United States is the right to vote. Primaries have the same importance as general elections.”
Early voting is an “incredible” opportunity to allow students, workers, and parents with young children to vote at their convenience, the news release stated. Voters can also register or change their registration in person at early voting sites.
The Souls to the Polls event is at 1 p.m. Sunday, starting at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Gardens, 1215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., and finishing at the John Chavis Community Center, 505 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
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