MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Queen City News is your local election headquarters. People across the Carolinas are heading out to the polls Tuesday to vote in the 2023 Municipal Election.

It’s a historic election day in North Carolina specifically when it comes to the new rules in place if you want to cast your ballot. People who are eligible will have to show a photo ID to vote. If you don’t have a valid ID, you can still vote, you just have to fill out an ID exception form. A government ID is also required to vote in South Carolina.

As for the top issues on the ballot this year, a new bond measure for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, a $2.5 billion request, is the largest ask ever in state history by a school district.

The money would pay for 30 of the district’s priority projects across the county, from remodeling to new construction. Those include middle schools in Huntersville and southwest Charlotte, and a new regional facility in west Charlotte, and 25 other projects.

County officials said they will need three one-cent property tax increases over the next five years to cover the debt payments.

Queen City News Daniel Pierce is at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections in uptown Charlotte Tuesday. QCN was told the busiest polling locations have been in the District 6 area.

The biggest item is the $2.5 billion school board bond on the ballot. There is a lot of support for it, but it hasn’t been without opposition. Some voters told QCN they worry about the impact a tax raise could have on poorer communities in the area.

Others who oppose it have told QCN they would vote against it because the board voted this past summer to redistrict several schools in the next school year.

There are also 14 people running for three open board seats. Going into this Election Day, there is also some concern over experienced staffing. QCN has been told while the Queen City isn’t immune to turnover, it hasn’t been a major issue here.

“Sometimes you hear people complain about the, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go in another presidential election.’ I’ve said that myself sometimes, but it’s a good group of voters that we have here in this county. We usually seem to be far out of the fray. So we’re fortunate here. We don’t have what we see in a lot of places throughout the country,” Dr. Michael Dickerson with Mecklenburg County Board of Elections said.

The poll lines close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in North Carolina. QCN was told it would be around 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. before we see the massive line of vehicles pull up to the Board of Elections to drop the ballot boxes off. They will then be placed inside a secure room.

Election results will be tabulated here as the numbers begin coming in Tuesday night.