1,100 go to the polls in Carteret

CARTERET COUNTY — College freshman Travis Morton of Peletier took advantage of fall break Thursday to vote early in an election that he's particularly excited about.

The 2008 elections are the first for Morton, 18, and with a presidential race without an incumbent on the ballot he sees his vote as an opportunity to have a say in an important turning point for the country.

"There are two new people running, and something is going to change," Morton said.

His vote went to Republican John McCain for president, but he said the race was a close one for him.

"It was pretty even for me," said Morton, who leaned toward McCain because of his experience.

Morton was one of approximately 1,100 Carteret County voters who came out on the first day of the early voting period.

The presidential race was on the mind of many, drawing both longtime voters as well as individuals voting for the first time.

Pickens Saxton of Newport was joined at a Morehead City early voting location by his daughter, Patrice, who is also voting in her first election.

The two spent the night before they voted on the phone "watching" the last presidential debate together, an example of one of Pickens Saxton's lessons in voting.

"That's key to voting: Get educated first," he said.

For Saxton and his daughter, the information they have gathered has put them behind Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

"I voted for him because of the needs of our country," Pickens Saxton said. "He's fair. He's for all the people."

Nancy Lamm of Cape Carteret put her faith behind McCain.

"I'm going to pray that the Lord puts in the right man to lead our nation," she said. "I know in my heart of hearts that it is John McCain. He's honest. He has integrity and he is a true hero."

With her vote firmly behind McCain, Lamm decided to go ahead and cast her ballot now. And whether or not others feel as strongly as she does about a candidate, she said they should also head to the polls.

"Get out and vote. Don't just sit back," she said.

Carteret County had a strong first day of early voting with steady turnout throughout the day at all three one-stop early voting locations in the county.

With an hour still left to go before the polls closed, 351 had voted at the Beaufort site at Bridgeway Church of the Nazarene and nearly 250 had voted at the Western Park Community Center site.

In Morehead City at the Crystal Coast Church of the Nazarene site, 489 had already voted and a line was forming.

Staff writer Jannette Pippin can be reached at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 910-382-2557.