Voter Turnout: One Month From Today – Ward 3’s October 7 Election

A Low Turnout We Cannot Repeat

I remember the last city election all too well. What should have been a moment of civic pride felt like a letdown. Too few people showed up.

Ballots went uncast, voices went unheard, and the decisions that shape Rocky Mount neighborhoods were left to the hands of a small fraction of voters. I was discouraged, even disheartened, wondering how a community with so much at stake could shrug its shoulders at the chance to choose its leaders.

That memory is why this October 7 matters so much. Ward 3 is about to make a choice, one that will affect not only its neighborhoods but also the larger balance of leadership for Rocky Mount.

Seven names will appear on the ballot: Tim Barnes, Xavian T. Jones, Edward Revis, Nellene Richardson, Charles “Verb” Roberson, Bronson Williams, and Crystal Wimes-Anderson.

Seven candidates. One seat. One of them will become the next Ward 3 council member.

In a field this crowded, the math is simple but sobering: when votes are split seven ways, it takes fewer ballots to determine who wins. That means every single vote carries even more weight. Your vote might not just matter, it might decide the race.

Ward 3 neighborhoods know the challenges: safety, housing, and the pressing need for preservation and restoration. Whoever wins this seat will shape whether those challenges are faced head-on or allowed to linger.

This is why turnout matters. When the vote is thin, priorities can shift away from what neighbors truly need.

Talk with your neighbors. Ask if they’re registered. Encourage them to check their polling place. Offer a ride if someone needs one.

Share the importance. Remind friends and family that in a crowded race, even a few dozen votes can swing the result.

Remember the stakes. This election isn’t abstract, it’s about real neighborhoods, real families, and the future of Rocky Mount.

Seven candidates. One seat. The only way to ensure that choice reflects the will of Ward 3 is for people to show up.

Maybe this October will be different. Maybe the lessons of the past, those empty polling places, those silent ballot boxes, will stir Rocky Mount toward something better. Low turnout shouldn’t define who we are, not in a city with neighborhoods worth restoring, families worth protecting, and futures worth building.

When Ward 3 steps forward on October 7, it won’t just be about choosing among seven candidates. It will be about proving that Rocky Mount is ready to show up, to care, to take responsibility for the place we all call home.

Because in the end, democracy isn’t measured in speeches or headlines. It’s measured in the quiet act of casting a ballot, in neighbors deciding together what kind of city they want to pass on.

If Ward 3 can fill the ballot boxes this time, with voices, with vision, with hope, then disappointment can finally give way to pride.

And that pride, like preservation itself, will last longer than any single election.

FYI: Last election there were 2556 registered voters in Ward 3. A total of 778 voters participated.