The early voting, which has proved popular among Personians in recent years, is a run-up to the regularly scheduled May 6 primaries, when all 14 polling places will be open for a full day of voting.

But whether they vote early or wait until May 6, Person voters won’t find much of a county flavor to the primary ballots handed to them by election officials. In fact, only one Person County contest is on any of the three ballots — Democratic, Republican or non-partisan — and it shows up on the Democratic ballot.

That sole contest is for the Democratic nominations to three seats on the Person Board of County Commissioners. Five candidates are vying for the nod to carry the Democratic banner into the November general election, where they will face opposition from three Republican hopefuls who don’t have to worry with a primary battle this spring. Yet a fourth opponent also could be waiting, should the Person County Board of Elections certify that Frances Blalock has gained the required number of registered voter signatures to place her on the November ballot as an unaffiliated candidate for commissioner.

For the moment, however, the five Democrats are more concerned about simply advancing to that next level.

The Democratic hopefuls include incumbent Commissioner Jimmy B. Clayton, 61, of Timberlake, a semi-retired environmental health specialist, who is seeking his third term on the county board, which he now serves as vice chairman.

Absent from the Democratic ticket this year, however, is incumbent Commissioner Larry H. Bowes, Clayton’s running mate from four years ago, who decided against running for re-election. That leaves at least one seat on the five-seat board up for the taking this year.

The four other Democrats campaigning to take up that challenge are Mike Barrett, 46, of Roxboro, an inclusion teacher at Person High School and former chairman of the Person County Democratic Party; David Brooks, a 50-year-old carpenter, who resides on Woodsdale Road north of Roxboro; Ray Jeffers, 24, of Roxboro, operator of a kennel who trains German Shepherd dogs for police work; and Samuel H. Winstead, 82, a Leasburg area farmer and former county commissioner.

To date, the primary campaign for commissioner has been relatively low key, with the candidates running a smattering of newspaper and radio ads and erecting some roadside signs. The pace, however, should pick up considerably within the next couple weeks as Election Day nears.

Waiting in the wings for the Democrats to choose their nominees are the three Republican candidates for commissioner. They are incumbent Commissioner Larry Yarborough, 45, who lives at Hyco Lake; retired businessman Gerry O’Neil, 67, of Mayo Lake, and Sam Kennington, 61, who lives on Gordonton Road, the current principal at Roxboro Community School, who will be retiring from that post later this year.

The only other contest on the primary ballot with any appreciable Person County connection, and then indirectly, is the Democratic primary for the state Senate seat from the 23rd District, in which veteran Sen. Ellie Kinnaird of Carrboro in Orange County is being challenged for the nomination to a seventh term by Moses Carey, chairman of the Orange Board of County Commissioners.

The Kinnaird-Carey winner will advance to the general election, where the contest for the Senate seat will take on a more direct Person County flavor, as the Republican hopeful seeking to go the state Senate is Person County resident and political newcomer Jon G. (Greg) Bass, 60, who lives on Knolls of Mayo Road.

The remaining primary contests are for national and state offices, led by the presidential preference primaries, which have more significance in North Carolina in 2008 than they have in years, especially in the Democratic race where Illinois Senator Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, and the former first lady, are locked in a battle for delegates going into the Democratic National Convention this summer, when the nominee ultimately will be decided.

The Republican presidential primary ballot in North Carolina includes four candidates, but Sen. John McCain really needs only the nod from his party’s convention to wrap up the GOP nomination. Nonetheless, his nominal challengers on the North Carolina ballot are Mike Huckabee, Alan Keyes and Ron Paul.

In contests for the U. S. Senate, incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole has token opposition from Pete Di Lauro of Weldon in the Republican primary. A five-candidate field is bidding for the Democratic nomination, for which the frontrunners are state Sen. Kay Hagan and businessman Jim Neal. Also in the race are Duskin C. Lassiter, Howard Staley and Marcus W. Williams.

North Carolinians will elect a governor this year to succeed two-term Gov. Mike Easley, who cannot run for a third term.

The Democratic gubernatorial primary has state Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue running neck-and-neck at this point, according to polls. Dennis Nielsen, a retired Air Force colonel, also is in the race.

On the Republican side, five hopefuls eye the nomination, including Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, former state Supreme Court Justice Robert F. (Bob) Orr, state Sen. Fred Smith, businessman and activist Bill Graham and Ebie Powers, a pecan farmer.

For Congress in the 13th District, which includes Person County, veteran Congressman Brad Miller of Wake County faces opposition in the Democratic primary from Derald Hafner, an organic farmer from Wake County.

The Democratic nominee in the 13th District will face Republican Hugh Webster, a former state senator, in the general election.

The Democratic primary ballot also features races for Council of State offices, including lieutenant governor, auditor, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner, superintendent of public instruction, and state treasurer. Among those offices, Republicans have primaries only for lieutenant governor and superintendent of public instruction.

There also are non-partisan primaries for two seats on the N. C. Court of Appeals. The two top vote getters in each contest will face each other in the general election for seats on the court.

Unaffiliated voters may vote in the partisan primaries, but at the polling place they must choose one or the other primary in which they wish to participate; they may not vote in both.