North Carolina’s State Board of Elections extended voting hours for three Democrat-heavy precincts and two that swung for President Donald Trump. The board also denied requests from three other counties, two of which swung hard for Trump in 2024.
The State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to extend voting at five precincts in Columbus, Hertford, Lenoir, and Wilson Counties after what Executive Director Sam Hayes called “technical glitches.” No unofficial results will post anywhere in the state until the last site closes at 8:15 p.m., the board said.
‘These are not indications of malicious activity, and the processes are in place to respond to each scenario.’
Three of those five precincts that got extra time Tuesday went for Kamala Harris by at least 68% in 2024, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections data.
Tabor City received the longest extension. The computer system at the South Williams precinct in the Tabor City Courthouse crashed temporarily, according to the Columbus County elections director. Workers switched to an emergency backup, and no voters were turned away, the director said. The precinct has been allowed to remain open for 45 extra minutes.
In Kinston, printer problems held up the opening of the K8 precinct at Holloway Recreation Center for “about 45 minutes,” Lenoir County Elections Director Kristie Smith told the board, Neuse News reported.
The board of elections eventually gave Lenoir County’s affected precinct an extra 30 minutes of voting time.
Hertford County received two extensions for 25 minutes at Como Fire and Rescue and 30 minutes at the Murfree Center in Murfreesboro. Wilson’s city recreation building got 15.
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Anyone who arrives after 7:30 p.m. at the five sites will cast a provisional ballot, per state law.
Hertford is a left-leaning jurisdiction. The county broke 62.9% for Kamala Harris in 2024.
Harris also won Wilson, albeit by a much thinner margin. Columbus went for Donald Trump by 66.6%, and Lenoir broke for him by around 53%, according to NCSBE results.
At the precinct level, things swing a bit further in Democrats’ direction, based on that same 2024 voting data.
Harris won Kinston’s K8 precinct by a whopping 94.3% for Harris. The former vice president also won Como’s and Murfreesboro’s affected precincts by around 70% each.
Trump did win south Williams by 63.5%, however.
The State Board of Elections denied Gates, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties’ requests for extended voting times, according to the News & Observer. Trump previously won Wilkes and Gates by 79.3% and 60.3% respectively, while Watauga broke 52% in Harris’ favor.
In Gates County, the person with the building key showed up late and delayed the start of voting, according to the Carolina Journal. A computer problem also delayed voting by at least 20 minutes in Wilkes County, and a voter had to be escorted in Watauga, which caused a similar delay, according to the outlet.
Hayes told reporters the issues were routine and nothing to be concerned about.
“During every election, minor disruptions arise such as power outages, tabulator issues, printer jams, longer lines than previously anticipated,” Hayes claimed, according to the News & Observer.
“These are not indications of malicious activity, and the processes are in place to respond to each scenario,” Hayes said.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
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Election, Kamala harris, North carolina, State law, Politics, Donald trump