N.C. Voters Demand Polls Stay Open Late After Technical Glitches
Voting rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina board of elections in an effort to force the state to extend voting in Durham County.
The suit alleges that some voters faced excessive wait time after electronic poll books stopped working and the county switched to paper books. The switch also prevented the precincts from printing out new “Authorization to Vote” forms, the suit claims, adding: “As a result, numerous voters were turned away and could not vote.”
Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens is expected to preside over the emergency hearing shortly.
The state board has so far declined requests to extend the hours, but has said a meeting will be held at 6 p.m. ET to consider the issue.
"We have received dozens of calls as of 11 a.m. today of issues in Durham County," wrote Allison Riggs, a lawyer with the Southern Coalition for Justice, to the state Board of Elections.
Riggs wrote that electronic poll books broke down, forcing precincts to use paper books and causing long delays. She added that this also caused precincts to run out of paper "Authorization to Vote" forms. As a result, Riggs wrote, some voters were told to come back later.
"This is not acceptable," wrote Riggs.
She asked that the polls be kept open until 8:30 p.m., an hour later than scheduled, and said if the board declines to do so, “we will pursue all legal options available to us."
Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the state board, said the board would meet later Tuesday to decide whether to extend voting hours.
“We had some glitches in a few precincts with the computers, so the state board, out of an abundance of caution, directed all of Durham County to use paper poll books instead of the computer poll books. We are working right now with the county to try to speed up the process so there are not major delays," he said in a statement to NBC News.
In a statement, the state board of elections said: “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."
It added, "Durham elections officials have not reported significant wait times in most precincts throughout most of the day Tuesday."
The board is expected to meet later Tuesday to consider the request to extend voting hours.