{"biography":"**Sonya Mclaurin Powell, the incumbent, did not win re-election to the Sampson County Schools Board of Education in the March 3, 2026 nonpartisan election. She was one of three outgoing board members not returning when the newly elected members were sworn in on July 1, 2026 [3][4].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Sonya Mclaurin Powell is a registered voter in Sampson County, North Carolina, registered since 1982 (44 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Sonya Mclaurin Powell's year of birth as 1955; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 11 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Sonya Mclaurin Powell can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[3] [Grady makes clerk history \u2013 Sampson Independent](https://www.clintonnc.com/news/breaking-news/112367/grady-makes-clerk-history)\n\n[4] [A changing of the guard \u2013 Sampson Independent](https://www.clintonnc.com/news/140585/a-changing-of-the-guard)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Sampson County Schools Board Of Education"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Sonya","fullname":"Sonya Mclaurin Powell","lastname":"Powell","middlename":"Mclaurin","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Sampson County Schools Board Of Education","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"sampson","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"sampson","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Sampson County Schools Board Of Education","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"sampson","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Per the NC voter file: DEM voter in Sampson County since 1982.","terms":[],"token":"cecb8559e0d76d2d"}