State Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell asked for peace at the polls during a news conference on Election Day eve.
Early voting turnout for this general election set a record, with more than 4.2 million people voting in person during the early voting period that ended Saturday, according to the state Board of Elections.
Tuesday is voters’ last chance to cast a ballot in the general election.
Brinson Bell said more than 1 million people are expected to vote on Election Day.
There were a few “verbal altercations” during early voting between campaigners or people approaching voters in the polling place buffer zone, she said. Electioneering is not allowed within 50 feet of a polling place entrance.
Brinson Bell called polling place hostility this season “very minimal.”
Board of Elections lawyer Paul Cox said they are looking into cases of reported harassment or intimidation.
Voters should be able to enter polling places without interference, Cox said. Electioneers should not assume the mantle of an election official by aggressively questioning a voter’s eligibility. It’s a crime to provide false information about the voting process, by telling someone falsely that they aren’t allowed to vote at a particular location, for example, Cox said.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that it planned to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 27 states, including North Carolina. Texas was on the list, but told the DOJ monitors not to come.
The DOJ said in a press release that it will have monitors in Alamance, Wake, and Mecklenburg counties on Election Day.
About 98% of North Carolina ballots are expected to be counted by early Wednesday. After Election Day, county boards must still count absentee ballots they received on Tuesday. They also must research and count, when appropriate, tens of thousands of provisional ballots, Cox said.
Republicans have filed several lawsuits over the last few months challenging voter registration, the counting of absentee ballots not returned in the proper sealed envelopes, and overseas voter qualifications.
Republicans have appealed the trial court and Appeals Court rejections of their overseas voter lawsuit to the state Supreme Court.
Cox described the other lawsuits as being “in a holding pattern.”
In a separate news conference, Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said students waited in line for hours on Saturday at some of the early voting sites near college campuses.
“That’s a good example of just how enthusiastic voters are here in North Carolina,” he said.
The election protection hotline has received more calls this year than in previous elections, but there has been no systemic voter intimidation, Phillips said.
“There is definitely higher tension, more emotion, particularly among the electioneering that goes on outside the precincts,” he said.
This is the first general election where the state’s voter ID law is in effect.
Some poll workers needed reminders on how people are able to vote provisional ballots if they don’t have IDs, Phillips said.
“All in all, it’s been a pretty good early voting period,” he said.
“We’re going to have a historic record turnout in North Carolina, and that’s a very good thing.”.
The Board of Elections offered some tips for voting this year.
- It’s too late to put your mail-in ballot in the mail. Instead, hand deliver it to your county board of elections office by the 7:30 pm Tuesday deadline.
- People who requested absentee ballots but have not used them can vote in person on Election Day. You can throw away your absentee ballot and don’t need to bring it to the polling place.
- Go to your assigned polling place on Election Day. Your polling place can be found on the state Board of Elections’ Voter Search page.
- Bring an acceptable photo ID.
- Voters who don’t have an ID can meet the requirement by filling out a form explaining why they can’t show one, or by showing their ID at the county elections office by 5 pm Nov. 14. In both cases, voters will fill out provisional ballots on Election Day.
