NORTH CAROLINA, USA — North Carolina State Board of Elections officials said voters turned out early in record numbers, and they still expect Election Day to be busy Tuesday.
While Board Chair Damon Circosta said things have gone smoothly so far, there will still be the usual hiccups on Election Day.
"There will invariably be some hiccups here and there. Printers will jam, voters may have to wait a little while at some locations, and unofficial results might take some time to be uploaded. All of this is normal. We see it in every election and 2020 will be no different," said Circosta.
Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said poll workers served a record of 3.6 million voters during the early voting period. The board said 900,000 people mailed in absentee ballots.
Before Election Day, nearly 4.6 million ballots have already been cast, 3.6 million in the early in-person voting period, and 900,000 absentees, which the board said is 62 percent of all registered voters in the state. Board officials said that number should top 5 million by the time Election Day is over Tuesday.
Board officials said 4.7 million ballots were cast in the 2016 election.
Brinson Bell said they expect to have 97 percent of all ballots cast in the election part of the unofficial results on election night.
Brinson Bell said that includes the following:
- All in-person, one-stop early voting votes
- All by mail absentee votes received by the county boards of elections by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2
- All election day votes, excluding provisional ballots
The board said remaining ballots that arrive after election day will be counted and added to totals during the post-election canvassing period.
Brinson Bell said the board's primary objective is accuracy, rather than speed.
Polls close Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. If you're standing in line at 7:30 p.m., you'll still be able to cast your vote.
The state board said they've worked with county boards of elections on what to do if there is a disruption in voting that lasts more than 15 minutes. Brinson Bell said the issue, be that a civil disturbance or power outage, will be brought to the state board of elections who will consider extending voting for a period of time.
Brinson Bell said at this point, about 145,000 people who requested absentee ballots have not returned them and also have not voted yet. She said they've seen that number go down every day.
The board said 17 days of early voting has gone smoothly and peacefully with just a few isolated reports of voter intimidation. The board said they've been working with law enforcement and their partners to continue to monitor and make sure peace continues at the polls.