NC elections board extends early voting hours

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

Published: October 30, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The State Board of Elections ordered Thursday that all 100 counties in North Carolina must keep early voting sites open for an extra four hours this weekend unless local officials unanimously decide it's unnecessary.

In an emergency meeting, the board unanimously agreed to extend Saturday early voting hours to 5 p.m. The meeting came after Mecklenburg and Guilford counties sought permission to keep the sites from closing at 1 p.m. as scheduled.

The decision to alter the early voting schedule highlights the remarkable turnout and long lines seen across the surprise swing state since early voting began two weeks ago.

More than 1.7 million people - or 30 percent of registered voters - cast a ballot at one-stop sites through Wednesday night.

Larry Leake, the Democratic chairman of the state board, at first proposed allowing counties to decide whether they wanted to stay open. But Charles Winfree, a Republican member of the board, questioned whether county boards controlled by Democrats could be manipulated by those seeking office.



Read more: http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/content/2008/oct/30/early-voting-hours-extended/

[K8-EEE]

1. But...but... how will the GOP win if people can actually VOTE!!

I think the Repukes are hating all this access to VOTING!

[struggle4progress]

2. WARNING! THIS IS NOT YET ON STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS WEBSITE & MY COUNTY BOARD SAYS "UNCONFIRMED":

I JUST CALLED THE DURHAM BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND THEY SAID SATURDAY VOTING WAS 9-1 AND MIGHT BE EXTENDED 9-5 BUT THE EXTENSION IS STILL UNCONFIRMED

SO ALTHOUGH BROADCAST MEDIA (LIKE FOX) ARE REPORTING THE EXTENSION, I AM NOT YET ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN IT IS TRUE. MOREOVER, REPORTING IS INCONSISTENT: SOME REPORTS SAY THE STATE BOARD WILL "ALLOW" COUNTY BOARDS TO EXTEND THEIR HOURS, WHILE OTHER REPORTS SAY THE STATE BOARD IS "ORDERING" COUNTY BOARDS TO EXTEND THEIR HOURS

[maddezmom]

3. AP also has it now

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGAZiY1RBcNVhthkiArF_gPYdLagD94505M00

:shrug:

[struggle4progress]

4. N&O: "... request must be approved by local boards of elections, most of which have scheduled their

own emergency meetings for Friday to discuss the issue ..."

Board asks counties to extend early voting
Published: Oct 30, 2008 03:17 PM
Modified: Oct 30, 2008 03:26 PM
By Thad Ogburn, Staff Writer
http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/1275243.html

[struggle4progress]

5. Still no changes on the SBOE website, which lists Sat 1 Nov voting hours

http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=17

And my county board isn't showing changed hours for Sat 1 Nov either:
http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/elec/Documents/2008_One%20Stop/One%20stop%20schedule%20text%20file.html

[maddezmom]

6. thanks for keeping up with this, because it seemed in the MSM to be a done deal

but it could reek havoc with people thinking it was true and it's not for their area.

[struggle4progress]

7. Saw your OP as I was about to walk out to knock doors for early voting here

I need to give people in NC accurate info when I tell them to vote early

So the OP gave me a valuable "heads up!"

[tpsbmam]

8. Just got an email notice from the Buncombe Co. Dem. Party -- extended here

(cut & paste)

NEW EARLY VOTING HOURS



NEW EARLY VOTING HOURS

68,816 BUNCOMBE COUNTY VOTERS
HAVE ALREADY CAST THEIR VOTES!
ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

DUE TO THE TREMENDOUS TURNOUT
ALL EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL 5:00 PM ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1.

PLEASE VOTE EARLY. THEN VOLUNTEER A FEW HOURS OF YOUR TIME TO GREET VOTERS & DISTRIBUTE THE DEMOCRATIC SLATE CARD AT ONE OF THE EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS DURING THE FINAL TWO DAYS.

VOLUNTEER NOW! CALL BUNCOMBE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS AT 274-4482

FOR A LIST OF EARLY VOTING SITES VISIT:

http://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/Election/news_detail.asp?newsID=6414

POLL HOURS:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

[struggle4progress]

9. News reports vary county by county -- so NCers should check with local BOEs

Here are a few news reports from NC's 100 counties:

Forsyth elections board extends early-voting hours
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/31/311248/state-orders-forsyth-board-decide-today-early-voti/news/

Three northeastern N.C. counties will not extend Saturday voting hours
By Jeff Hampton
Lauren King
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 31, 2008
Chowan, Currituck and Dare counties will not extend early, one-stop voting hours on Saturday, despite the state board allowing extra hours to accommodate record turnouts throughout North Carolina. Instead the three counties will offer early voting from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, as originally scheduled ... http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/three-northeastern-nc-counties-will-not-extend-saturday-voting-hours

Early Voting Extended
Counties Make Last Call For Early Votes
Brian Haney
Daily Record Reporter
... The Harnett County Board of Elections met yesterday at 6 p.m. and decided to extend early voting hours for Saturday ... Sampson County decided this morning not to extend its hours for one-stop voting tomorrow ... http://www.dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=101742&TM=43054.24

Counties decide on extended early-voting hours
Posted: Today at 10:36 a.m.
Updated: 55 minutes ago
Raleigh, N.C. — At least five counties in the Triangle region have agreed to follow a state recommendation to extend early-voting hours on Saturday, while two counties have declined. At emergency meetings Friday, the Wake, Chatham, Cumberland, Johnston and Lee county election boards unanimously voted to keep one-stop voting sites open an extra fours, until 5 p.m. Saturday. The Orange and Franklin county boards voted unanimously to maintain the scheduled closing time of 1 p.m. ... http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3863443/

Long lines for early voting
12:59 PM EDT on Friday, October 31, 2008
By NewsChannel 36 Staff
E-mail Us: [e-mail]
... Mecklenburg County has extended the time on Saturday to show up to cast your ballot early ... This could mean an extra 8,000 early voters in Mecklenburg County. Polls close tonight at 7. Early voting Saturday in Mecklenburg County is from 10-5. http://www.wcnc.com/news/politics/stories/wcnc-103108-al-early_voting.167cb4ac4.html