Primary day is May 8, but more than half of the people who cast ballots in recent North Carolina elections participated in a practice that starts on April 19 this year: early voting.

Start planning your trip to the polls now. Despite the low-key tone so far, the results of this primary could have tremendous bearing on the future of Rowan County. Big decisions are made in primaries.

First, a shout out to those who decided years ago to expand ballot access by allowing more than one day to vote. Work, illness, family commitments, travel and other conflicts can get in the way of voting on The Day. People who anticipate a conflict or don’t want to wait have been quick to take advantage of early voting.

This spring, early voting polls will be open at three locations: the Board of Elections at West End Plaza, the South Branch Library in China Grove and the Rockwell American Legion Post. You can vote at any one of them.

Upcoming coverage

The Salisbury Post will publish several stories between now and April 19 to shed more light on races for the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, the legislature and Congress.

Before the final vote on May 8, we’ll update and repackage those articles in a Voters Guide that will be published in the paper and available online.

What you find on your ballot will depend on your party and where you live. Congressional and state House district lines crisscross the county.

However, all Republican voters in the county can count on finding at least two races on the ballot:

• A six-candidate race for three seats on the county commission.

• A two-person race for the 33rd District State Senate seat, between radio station owner Carl Ford of China Grove and teacher Bill Sorenson of Norwood. The district includes all of Rowan and Stanly counties.

All Salisbury voters’ ballots will include a referendum on leasing the city’s Fibrant broadband system to Hotwire Communications.

Send questions for forum

Then there’s the candidate forum. The Post is working with the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Catawba College and WSAT to host a forum for county commission candidates 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, in Ketner Hall’s Tom Smith Auditorium on the Catawba campus.

Help us make the most of this opportunity by sharing questions about the issues  most important to you. Here’s how:

• Email editor@salisburypost.com

• Call 704-797-4244.

We’ll make sure the moderator, Dr. Michael Bitzer, gets all the questions. He will decide which questions to ask the candidates.

Primary Day may be a month away, but early voting starts in only 11 days. Be prepared.