Updated 7:21 pm: The NCSBE voted Tuesday evening to deny a blanket 90 minute extension on eight Durham precincts’ voting hours—as requested by the Durham County Board of Elections—and instead decided to extend hours by varying times at each precinct.
Several Durham precincts reported periods during which people were unable to vote for more than 15 minutes. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice on behalf of Democracy North Carolina has also filed a lawsuit to keep Durham polls open until 9 p.m, set to be heard soon by a Wake County superior court judge.
The eight precincts had voting delayed by different amounts of time, and the NCSBE was divided on whether or not there should be a uniform 90 minute extension for all of them or if extensions should be done based on the amount of time each precinct's voting was interrupted for. Those in favor of a uniform extension argued that voters should not be penalized for government mistakes and bureaucracy, while others said the law did not permit such blanket extensions.
The final decisions were to extend hours by 60 minutes at the Bethesda Ruritan Club and the Cole Mill Road Church. The other six precincts were extended by the lengths of times the precincts reported voting was interrupted.
Creekside Elementary School and Glenn Elementary School were extended for 45 minutes. 30 minute extensions were granted for the Forest Hill Club House and Greater Emmanuel Temple of Grace. A 25 minute extension for McMannen United Methodist Church and a 20 minute extension for Neal Middle School were also granted.
The state board passed the final motion just before 7 p.m., approximately half an hour before all polls were scheduled to close in Durham County.
Original article: The North Carolina Board of Elections will be holding an emergency meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss voting precinct closing times, according to an release emailed from Patrick Gannon, spokesman from the NCSBE.
Glitches today in the voter check-in software in several Durham precincts forced election officials to switch from checking voters in electronically to using paper poll books, leading to long lines.
Because of the delays, the Durham County Board of Elections has requested an extension of voting hours by 90 minutes at the Bethesda Ruritan Club, which would allow voting to continue at that site until 9 p.m. tonight.
“The State Board Office has been in constant communication with Durham elections officials and has sent staff to assist throughout the day. Durham County employees have been dispatched to Durham precincts to ensure they have the supplies they need and to collect information about voting disruptions in each precinct, if any,” Gannon noted.
He explained that there were no problems with ballots, as Durham County uses paper ballots.
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