Elections will dominate 2020, and it wont be long before Catawba County residents will be able to cast their ballots.

Primary elections will be held on March 3, with early voting set for February.

Heres an overview of the 2020 primaries:

What races will have primaries this year?

For federal offices, there will be Democratic and Republican primaries for president and U.S. Senate.

The Libertarian and Constitution parties will also have primaries for president.

The race for the 10th U.S. Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Patrick McHenry, will have a Republican primary while the Fifth Congressional District represented by Republican Virginia Foxx will have a Democratic primary.

There will be Democratic and Republican primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, auditor and superintendent of public instruction.

The races for attorney general, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner and secretary of state will only have a Republican primary.

The races for agriculture commissioner and treasurer will only have a Democratic primary.

There will also be a Republican primary in N.C. Senate District 42.

There will be no primaries for either of the N.C. House seats in Catawba County because only one Republican and one Democrat are running in each of the two races.

Locally, the races for Catawba County commissioner and register of deeds will have Republican primaries.

When will the polls be open?

Early voting will run from Feb. 13 through Feb. 29.

The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.

The Newton Main Library, Highland Recreation Center, Conover Station, Southwest Library and Sherrills Ford-Terrell Library will be the early-voting sites.

Catawba County residents are permitted to vote at any of the five sites, regardless of where they live.

On the March 3 primary day, polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Residents voting on March 3 must vote at their assigned polling places.

Who can vote in which primaries?

The primaries residents will be able to vote in will depend on their party affiliation.

To vote in the Republican, Democratic or Libertarian primaries, a resident must either be registered with the party or be registered as unaffiliated.

The Constitution Party only allows voters registered with the party to vote in its primaries.

Will I have to show ID to vote?

Residents will not have to show ID during the primary as a result of a court ruling blocking the states voter ID law.

N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein said the state will not appeal the decision until after the primary, according to an Associated Press report.

The voter ID law was approved by voters in 2018 and was set to go into effect this year.

What is the deadline for voter registration?

Residents wishing to vote on March 3 must be registered by Feb. 7.

Same-day registration will be available during the early-voting period. Residents must show some form of identification such as a drivers license or copies of government or financial documents showing a persons name and address.

Residents may register by printing off, filling out and returning the registration forms available for download at catawbacountync.gov/county-services/elections/voter-registration.

Forms are also available at public libraries, public high schools and admissions offices of colleges.

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A look ahead to the 2020 elections: Answers to some of the big questions - Hickory Daily Record