The campaigning is over and it's now up to the voters to decide who will represent them in elective offices that are up for grabs Tuesday when General Election 2009 is held. In Carbon County, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in each of the 51 election precincts.

A total of 38,014 persons are eligible to participate in the balloting, according to the registration totals recently certified to the state by the county's bureau of elections. As has been the case in the past, the Democratic Party continued to have a significant voter plurality edge among the voters, having 19,404 persons (51 percent) eligible to vote tomorrow. The Republican Party has 13,983 (36.8 percent) voters eligible. Other party affiliation totals appear later in this story.As was reported in Saturday's TIMES NEWS, the key race in Carbon County is for the historic third judge on the Court of Common Pleas, a 10-year term. The candidates are Democrat Carole Wildoner Walbert of Jim Thorpe and Republican Steven R. Serfass of Palmerton. A preview of their candidacies appeared in our weekend edition.Meanwhile, three county row officeholders are running for re-election to four-year terms of office and are without opposition. All Democrats, they include Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court Judy F. Moon of Nesquehoning, Clerk of Courts William C. McGinley of Lehighton and Treasurer Ronald J. Sheehan of Jim Thorpe.The four-year terms as Jury Commissioners are also to be filled by the voters, with those having been decided in May. Incumbent Republican Joe Steber and newcomer Joanne Poluka-Maurer, both of Nesquehoning, are the candidates.The term of Magisterial District Judge Joseph D. Homanko Sr. of Beaver Meadows is also up for re-election. He won both the Democratic and Republican nominations in May and is virtually assured re-election to another six-year term.County voters will also participate in voting for statewide judgeships, where seven positions are up for grabs.For Justice of the Supreme Court, where one person will be seated, the candidates are Democrat Jack Panella and Republican Joan Orie Melvin. Panella is from Northampton County.There will be four positions filled on the Superior Court, for which there nine candidates. They include Democrats Robert J. Colville, Kevin Francis McCarthy, Anne E. Lazarus and Teresa Sarmina, Republicans Judy Olson, Sallie Mundy, Temp Smith and Paula Ott, and Libertarian Marakay Rogers.Voters will also vote for two judge positions on the Commonwealth Court. Seeking them are Democrats Barbara Behrend Ernsberger and Linda S. Judson and Republicans Patricia A. McCullough and Kevin Brobson.Meanwhile, county voters will vote for candidates for "local" positions in their respective boroughs and townships, as well as for positions on the school boards in which they reside.Besides the Democratic and Republican registration totals listed above, 4,449 persons with either no party affiliation or registered to other parties are also eligible to take part in tomorrow's balloting.