Hewitt Fulton dutifully went to the polls to cast his ballot in One-Stop Early Voting.

"I always do," he said. "I never wait until election day."

Fulton smiled as he left the polls, saying he never misses an election as voting is a "civic responsibility."

He decided to vote on this week as he had decided on each of the candidates.

Fulton was one of 1,385 people who'd voted as of Thursday night, with more than a week left in early voting.

Not everyone had such a positive view of voting, however.

Rhonda Richardson said she was in the dark on most local candidates, which she attributed to poor campaigning.

Richardson is a working mom who spends her time between a nine to five job and raising her children, she said, which leaves little time to attend forums or seek out candidates.

She suggested candidates in a tight-knit community go door-to-door, introducing themselves to likely voters.

"The old timey was is sometimes the best way," Richardson said.

Just one candidate was she ready to support, eight months after candidates filed to run – Carol McCall.

"I feel like she's genuine," she said.

Dell Parker, director of the Scotland County Board of Education, said polls were "running smoothly" and no issues had occurred.

Not all counties were so lucky.

New Hanover had several voters report that when they tried to vote for a candidate, it appeared that they had voted for the candidate's opponent.

The New Hanover Board of Elections said there was a machine calibration issue that made it appear that votes were being cast incorrectly, but it will not affect the election.

Ilario Pantano, a Republican vying for the District 7 House seat, has sent out a message to supporters saying a glitch sent Democrat Rep. Mike McIntyre votes meant for him.

Parker says Scotland County uses a paper ballot and is not prone to computer glitches.

As of Wednesday night, 1,174 people had voted, or 5.2 percent of the 22,566 registered voters in Scotland County, according to the elections board.

Democrats were the most prolific voters, making up 866 of the voter or roughly 6.1 percent of registered Democrats. There were 150 Republicans, or roughly 4.1 percent of those registered, that attended the polls. Just 3.4 percent of unaffiliated voters, 158 total, cast their ballots early.

African American turnout is also disproportionately high, with black voters making up 45.8 percent of those who voted early while making up only 37.9 percent of the total county electorate.

Parker did not have a break-down available for voting on Thursday, which included 211 voters.

Polls will be open for One-Stop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Oct. 29. Polls will also be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 30, a Saturday. One-Stop Early Voting is being held at Scotland County Annex Building at 231 E. Cronly Street.

Election Day is Nov. 2.