The two-year journey from the primaries to the polls is almost over – but not until you cast your vote! Follow along with this handy guide to make sure you have what it takes to make your voice heard.

Haywood County Commission candidates faced off last Thursday at a forum hosted by The Mountaineer, and while there wasn’t a lot of dissention among them, the questions they received provide insight into the needs and wants of Haywood County residents.

Anyone who’s driven through Jackson County in the last several months is likely well aware that there’s an election underway for two county commissioner seats.

Born and raised in Swain County, Mike Clampitt is a sixth-generation Western North Carolinian with roots in the area dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Although Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have overshadowed nearly every other political campaign in the country, that doesn’t mean that those other campaigns aren’t important.

There were two primetime spectacles Monday evening. One was the first presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The second immediately followed the debate, when John and Jane Q. Public took to their smart phones and computers to spout their political opinions, many of which seemed as if the couple ran out onto their front yards across America, ripping off their clothing in a state of madness and confusion, pounding their chests and howling up to the heavens, in hopes of being loud enough that the neighbors would hear, turn on their porch light and say, “What the hell is going on over there?”

Say what you will about Clinton and Trump, there isn’t much left that hasn’t already been plastered or dumped onto the world spotlight. Watching the debate, Clinton resembled Tracy Flick from the film “Election,” poised and ready for any curveball thrown at her, but also seemingly perfect and untouchable to a fault, something voters can’t seem to swallow when deciding who to cast a ballot for.

It’s been 17 years since voters in North Carolina’s four westernmost counties have chosen a new representative for the state House of Representatives, but following the retirement of Roger West, R-Marble, that will change on Election Day. 

On Tuesday Nov. 8, voters in Haywood County will decide from amongst a slew of candidates seeking election to the Haywood County Board of Education in a non-partisan race. 

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both have their liabilities, but his are so much more numerous and serious than hers that the race should not be nearly as close as it seems to be. 

If you’re for Trump because you agree with what you think he stands for, or if you just can’t bear to vote for any Democrat, or if you simply admire his chutzpah, or if you sympathize with his bigotry, so be it.

Every election cycle, the Macon County League of Women Voters aims to educate its community about local and state candidates and the issues impacting the region by hosting political forums.