Live Blog: Follow BPR 2022 election coverage

In the closely-watched race for North Carolina’s 11^th Congressional district, Republican candidate Chuck Edwards has won with about 54 percent of the vote, or 10 percent more votes than Democratic candidate Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, according to unofficial results from the NC Board of Elections.

Courtesy of NC Legislature

Read more about why the race matter here.

As election day draws to a close, Democrats are hoping to fend off Republican hopes for a supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly. That balance depends on three seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives and two seats in the North Carolina Senate.

Here are the full results in WNC.

Matt Peiken/BPR News

Voters in 11 Western North Carolina counties elected new sheriffs this year, following a number of retirements and leading to a changing of the guard in this region.

In Buncombe County, Quentin Miller held onto his office with 60 percent of the vote against Republican Trey McDonald who won 37 percent of the vote. Republican candidate Jeff Worley won the primary but dropped out of the race in August due to health concerns.

In Jackson County on Election night at 10:30 pm, Republican Doug Farmer had 52 percent against Democratic candidate Rick Buchanan with 38 percent.

In Swain County, current sheriff Curtis Cochran held onto his seat with 72 percent against Doug (Tank) Anthony with 28 percent of the vote.

In Transylvania County, Republican Chase Owens by beat Democrat William E. Hemphill by 13 percentage points. Unaffiliated Candidate Benny Frandy won 5 percent of the vote.

Read moreabout BPR's coverage of these races.

Esther Manheimer was elected to her third term as the mayor of Asheville Tuesday night, according to unofficial election results from the state Board of Elections. First elected mayor in 2013, Manheimer defeated Kim Roney, a progressive independent serving her first term on the Asheville City Council.

This was the closest vote in Manheimer’s three mayoral campaigns. After winning 81 percent of the vote in 2017, Manheimer’s margin Tuesday was about 8% or about 3000 votes. The vote totals as of Tuesday at 11:00 pm with 100% of precincts reporting were 20,790 for Esther Manheimer, and 17,677 for Kim Roney.

Voters also elected three new city council candidates, following a field of 11 who competed in the primary and six who were on the general election ballot.

The top three candidates include Maggie Ullman Berthiaume with 21,033 votes or 21.36%, Antanette Mosley with 19,549 votes or 19.85%, and Sheneika Smith with 17,488 votes or 17.76%. Coming in four, fifth and sixth respectively are Allison Scott with 14,855 votes, Nina Tovish 13,825 votes, and Andrew Fletcher with 10,832 votes. Smith and Mosley were the only incumbents on the ballot.

Most polls across the state closed at 7:30pm. Precincts in three North Carolina counties stayed open until 8:30pm in the state - none were in Western North Carolina.

In most counties, results from all precincts have not been counted but early voting numbers are already in. Experts expect Democrats to turn out more for early voting while Republicans tend to favor voting on Election day. That means Republicans who are currently in the lead have a strong position this early in the evening.

Politics expert Chris Cooper highlighted a number of races where Republicans are in the lead in Western North Carolina LIVE on Blue Ridge Public Radio. Listed below.

As of 2 pm, 24,543 voters have turned out today in Buncombe County, bringing the total to nearly 95,000 votes cast, according to a press release from the County. That's not quite half of Buncombe's 210,000 registered voters. You can see a breakdown of how many people have voted today at each precinct here.

Polls are open until 7:30 pm in North Carolina. As long as you are in line by then, you will have the chance to vote. Enter your name at the Voter Search Tool if you need help finding your precinct.

BPR's Lilly Knoepp, Helen Chickering and Matt Peiken have been talking to voters all week. Hear what issues are bringing people out to the polls in our Mountain Voices feature. Lilly also stopped to talk to voters in Sylva on her way in to Asheville.

NPR says it will be relying on the Associated Press to help it call races today. But the AP won't start calling a state's results until all the polls in that state are officially closed, so it's fair to assume we won't see many — if any — races called before dinner time for most folks.

North Carolina's polls close at 7:30 p.m.

A few states — Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia — will close a bit earlier, at 7 p.m.

And Alaska won't close its polls until 1 a.m. EST.

Given the way voting has shifted since the pandemic, waiting for these results to land will require patience. Remember, the 2020 Presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump wasn't called until the Saturday after the election.

Find more statewide coverage in WUNC's Election 2022 live blog.

According to a press release from Buncombe County, as of 10 am 11,341 voters cast ballots bringing the total to more than 81,700 people — including about 70,000 early voters. Find a breakdown of how many people voted at each precinct here.

The county reports that Pisgah Elementary School has the highest voter turnout so far this morning, with 331 people followed by Pole Creek Baptist Church with 306 voters. If you're headed to the polls, you can check the wait counts here.

Here is some more helpful info from Buncombe County for Election Day 2022:

Polls in Buncombe County are open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. As long as you are in line by 7:30 p.m., you will have the chance to vote. You must vote at the polling place in your assigned precinct. If you need help finding your voting location, enter your name at the Voter Search Tool. No ID is needed to vote.

Curbside voting Another feature Buncombe County Election Services offers is curbside voting for those who are unable to go inside the precinct due to age or disability. Just pull up to the curbside voting sign, and an election worker will come out and help you.

Need to turn in an Absentee Ballot? The deadline to return the completed Absentee Ballot is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at 5 p.m. Absentee ballots cannot be returned at polling precincts. Absentee ballots cannot be emailed or faxed. Request forms that are hand delivered to the office at 59 Woodfin Place must be returned only by the voter or the voter’s near relative. Absentee ballots also may be mailed to P.O. Box 7468 Asheville, NC 28802. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 and received by Monday, Nov. 14.

Five counties in North Carolina are among 64 voting jurisdictions around the country being monitored by the US Justice Department for possible illegal behavior at the polls.

The DOJ says their Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country to protect the rights of voters since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  

Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said on Monday that there have been 15 situations that could be considered voter intimidation and interference in North Carolina during the 2022 midterms. The complaints included voters and election workers being yelled at, aggressive campaigning, and, in at least one case, some someone following a poll worker from the voting site to an election office and then to the election worker’s home.

Brinson Bell said the board of elections investigations division is looking into those situations. The counties being monitored include Harnett, Alamance, Columbus, Mecklenburg and Wayne.

Are you voting on Election Day? BPR wants to hear from you and we may use your voice on the air. Record a voice memo outside the polls and tell us:

• What’s your name and where do you live?  
• What made you want to come out to vote?  
• What is your top issue this election?

Snap a selfie too and we may feature you on BPR's website and social media. If you voted early, you can also share your experience. Send your recording and selfie to voices@bpr.org. or post it on social media.

Lilly Knoepp

Follow BPR’s election coverage all day!

Election day is here! More than 2 million people have already cast their ballots in North Carolina during early voting. Voter turnout in Western North Carolina has been higher than normal especially in the NC-11 congressional district, according to Chris Cooper, head of the Public Policy Institute at Western Carolina University.

Chris Cooper

During early voting, NC-11 had the highest turnout rate of any congressional district in the state.

“In terms of overall turnout numbers, look, it's not going to be a record midterm by any stretch, but it is probably going to end up being higher than the last few midterms,” Cooper told BPR on Friday.