2/9/26: EARLY PRIMARY VOTING STARTS THURSDAY; POTENTIAL ‘UNAFFILIATED’ CANDIDATE IN KITTY HAWK NEEDS SIGNATURES TO BE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT FOR BOARD OF EDUCATION SEAT.

Early voting for the March 3 primary starts Thursday and continues until Feb. 28 at the Kill Devil Hills Town Hall and the Dare County Administration Building in Manteo.

The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dare County-registered voters may vote at either poll location. The Buxton voting site is not open for this election.

There are multiple Republican candidates running for their party’s nomination in multiple elections being contested in the primary, including for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the N.C. House and N.C. Senate, the Dare County Board of Commissioners (two seats), the Dare County Board of Education (one seat), the Dare County Sheriff, and the N.C. Court of Appeals.  

Because Dare County has been split into two districts for the N.C. House of Representatives – District 1 and new District 79—there are two Republican ballots for this primary. They are:

Sample Republican ballot including the House District 1 election (see above): https://www.darenc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/16767/639034833651700000

Sample Republican ballot including the House District 79 election: https://www.darenc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/16761/639034822705400000.

Voters who reside in Southern Shores are still in District 1, as are voters in Duck, a portion of Kitty Hawk, Colington, Manns Harbor, Stumpy Point, and East Lake.

All remaining Dare County voters, including those who reside in a portion of Kitty Hawk, and in Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, are in District 79.

There are only two contested Democratic primary elections: The most prominent is for U.S. Senate, in which six candidates are running, including former Governor Roy Cooper; the second is a contest for the N.C. Court of Appeals in which two candidates are running. This appellate court seat is a different one from the one on the ballot in the Republican primary.

See Democratic sample ballot: https://www.darenc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/16765/639034831989470000.

There are no Democratic candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 1, which includes Dare County, or for any of the other offices being contested in the Republican primary—except the U.S. Senate and the N.C. Senate—so whoever wins these primaries will take office, assuming no reason for withdrawal.

Democrat Melissa Zehner is running for the N.C. Senate, District 1.

‘UNAFFILIATED’ CAREER EDUCATOR NEEDS SIGNATURES TO BE ON BALLOT

One longtime educator is trying to bring a choice to voters for a seat on the Dare County Board of Education (“BOE”), which has three positions turning over.

Mary Robinson of Kitty Hawk, a former middle and high school teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Virginia, is busy collecting signatures on petitions to secure a nomination in the November general election as an “Unaffiliated Candidate” for the Dare BOE.

Ms. Robinson is vying to compete with Republican Richard Shope for the BOE’s District 3 seat, which represents Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores, and Duck. District 3 incumbent Matt Brauer, a Republican, chose not to run for another four-year term.

(Mr. Shope, who formerly was a fourth grade teacher at Kitty Hawk Elementary School, has no Republican challengers in the primary or a Democratic challenger in November.)

Ms. Robinson has been active locally with the Dare Education Fund, including serving on the Board of Directors for six years, 2 ½ years as president. 

To be on the ballot, Ms. Robinson (pictured above) must present the valid signatures of 4 percent of the total number of all registered Dare County voters, as of Jan. 1, 2026, to the Dare County Board of Elections by noon March 3, Primary Day.

This percentage computes to about 1300 ink signatures, according to Ms. Robinson’s campaign  workers, who are collecting signatures on petitions door-to-door and at the Island Bookstore, 3712 N. Croatan Hwy., in Kitty Hawk. (The bookstore is in the shopping strip with The Pony and the Boat restaurant.)

Dare County Board of Education elections became partisan in 2018 as the result of legislation ratified by both houses of the N.C. General Assembly. Because the ratified bill was “local” in nature—meaning that it applied to fewer than 15 counties in the state—it did not go to Governor Cooper, who likely would have vetoed it. It became law upon ratification.

In order for Unaffiliated candidates to have their names on the ballot in a partisan election, N.C. law requires them to secure nomination by petition. (See N.C. General Statutes sec. 163-122(a)(3).)

Your signature on Ms. Robinson’s petition signifies only that you support including her name on the November ballot. It is not a vote.

For more information about Ms. Robinson’s petition drive, contact maryrforboe@gmail.com.

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TOWN COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW AT 10 A.M.: The Southern Shores Town Council will meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Pitts Center for its regular monthly meeting.

You may access the AGENDA & MEETING PACKET at: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-84356658e7a84b4ca6a9d3a57048639a.pdf

The Beacon will not cover this meeting.

At the January meeting, Mayor Elizabeth Morey announced that she would hold an informal MAYOR’S CHAT on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 4:30 p.m., in the Pitts Center. The Mayor and other members of the Town Council and Town staff who may attend will take questions and comments from the public.

(The chat was confirmed by a Town announcement issued later today.)

BY ANN G. SJOERDSMA, THE SOUTHERN SHORES BEACON, 2/9/26