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North Carolina extends voting at some polling places on Election Day

Pabio November 6, 2024

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to extend hours at two polling places due to delays early in the day.

Voting will be extended by 30 minutes at Gardners Elementary School in Wilson County and the Pilot Mountain polling place in Burke County. These locations will now close at 8 p.m.

In Wilson County, poll workers were unable to print authorization to vote forms between approximately 6:40 a.m. and 8:07 a.m., forcing about 10 voters to leave the premises. If a voter votes at that location after 7:30 p.m., they will cast a provisional ballot, the board said. In Pilot Mountain, voting was delayed due to technology issues with laptops. About five voters went to Pilot Mountain.

This expansion will only impact results being processed in Wilson and Burke counties. All other counties can close as if there had been no extension, the board’s general counsel Paul Cox said during the meeting.

Polling hours may be extended if there is a delay of more than 15 minutes, said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections.

Of more than 2,600 polling places across the state, those were the only two extensions reported as of 4:30 p.m.