Nearly half of the state’s counties are shutting down polling places, in part because of a law passed in June.
by Blake Paterson
In June, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation
mandating that all early voting sites in the state remain open for
uniform hours on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a move supporters
argued would reduce confusion and ultimately make early voting easier
and more accessible.
But with the start of early voting only weeks away, county election
officials across the state — who previously had control over setting
polling hours in their jurisdictions — say the new law has hamstrung
their ability to best serve voters. Some officials in rural counties say
they’ve had to shrink the number of early voting locations to
accommodate the law’s longer hour requirements and stay within their
budgets.
A ProPublica analysis of polling locations shows that North
Carolina’s 2018 midterm election will have nearly 20 percent fewer early
voting locations than there were in 2014. Nearly half of North
Carolina’s 100 counties are shutting down polling places, in part
because of the new law. Poorer rural counties, often strapped for
resources to begin with, are having a particularly difficult time
adjusting to the new requirement.
The closure of polling locations increases the time it takes for
voters to travel to the polls, and it could result in lower turnout,
making matters worse for a state already dealing with Hurricane
Florence. Early voting in North Carolina begins on Oct. 17.
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Source: ProPublica
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