GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Thousands of North Carolina voters are registered under the newly approved affiliation called No Labels.
There is a rising concern that young or new voters might not know what that means when they register for that party because it will eliminate their chance to vote in the spring primary.
“We need to make sure that distinction is understood by voters. The No Labels party is not the same thing as being an unaffiliated voter,” said Charlie Collicutt, the director of the Guilford County Board of Elections.
For a primary election, registered Republicans vote Republican, registered Democrats vote Democrat and unaffiliated voters can choose one or the other.
Parties like Green, Libertarian and No Labels typically don’t have a primary race to vote in.
In Guilford County, there are more than 370,000 registered voters, and 70 of them are registered in the No Labels party. In Forsyth County, there are 92 No Labels registered voters out of their total of more than 260,000.
That could lower the pool of voters for the March primary.
“We just get tired of people having labels. You are calling me a Democrat. You are calling me a Republican. You are calling me a conservative … We said, ‘“’no labels,'” said Dennis Blair, the president of the No Labels party in North Carolina.
Blair says their goal is not trying to get voters to switch their registration but to consider their candidate in the general election.
“For instance, I myself am registered as unaffiliated,” Blair said. “We are supporting people, whatever their party affiliation, Democrat, Republican, Independent, who are willing to put country ahead of party, who are willing to listen to the other side and compromise for the greater good.”
No matter your registration affiliation, you can vote for any candidate from any party in the 2024 general election.
