North Carolina's top elections official asks polling places to treat each other with respect • NC Newsline

Karen Brinson Bell, state elections director, called for peace at the ballot box during a news conference on the eve of Election Day.

According to the state elections board, early voter turnout in this general election was a record, with more than 4.2 million people voting in person during the early voting period that ended Saturday.

Tuesday is the last chance for voters to cast their ballot in the general election.

Brinson Bell said more than a million people are expected to vote on Election Day.

During early voting, there were some “verbal altercations” between campaigners or people who approached voters in the polling station's buffer zone, she said. Voting is not permitted within 50 feet of the polling place entrance.

Brinson Bell called hostility at polling places this season “very low.”

Board of Elections attorney Paul Cox said it was investigating cases of reported harassment or intimidation.

Voters should be able to enter polling stations unhindered, Cox said. Poll workers should not assume the role of election official by aggressively questioning a voter's eligibility. It is a crime to provide false information about the voting process, such as falsely telling someone that they are not allowed to vote at a certain location, Cox said.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 27 states, including North Carolina. Texas was on the list but told U.S. Justice Department monitors not to come.

The DOJ announced in a press release that it will deploy observers to Alamance, Wake and Mecklenburg counties on Election Day.

About 98% of ballots in North Carolina are expected to be counted by early Wednesday. After Election Day, county boards must continue to count mail-in ballots they received on Tuesday. They also have to research and, if necessary, count tens of thousands of provisional ballots, Cox said.

Republicans have filed several lawsuits in recent months challenging voter registration, the counting of mail-in ballots that were not returned in properly sealed envelopes and the qualification of foreign voters.

Republicans have appealed Rejections by the court of first instance and the court of appeal their foreign voter lawsuit in the state Supreme Court.

Cox described the other lawsuits as “on hold.”

In a separate news conference, Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said students stood in line for hours at some polling locations near college campuses on Saturday.

“This is a good example of how enthusiastic voters are here in North Carolina,” he said.

The election protection hotline received more calls this year than in previous elections, but there was no systematic intimidation of voters, Phillips said.

“There are definitely higher tensions and more emotions, especially with the election campaigns that take place outside the electoral districts,” he said.

This is the first general election in which the state's voter ID law will take effect.

Some poll workers need to be reminded how people can cast provisional ballots if they don't have ID, Phillips said.

“All in all, it was a pretty good period of early voting,” he said.

“We’re going to have historic record turnout in North Carolina, and that’s a very good thing.”

The electoral board has given some tips for this year's election.

• It is too late to send your absentee ballot in the mail. Instead, hand-deliver it to your county elections office by the Tuesday deadline at 7:30 p.m.
• People who requested an absentee ballot but did not use it can vote in person on Election Day. You can throw away your mail-in ballot and don't have to bring it with you to the polling place.
• Go to your assigned polling place on Election Day. You can find your polling station on the State Election Commission website. Voter search Page.
• Bring one with you acceptable photo ID.
• Voters who do not have an ID can comply with the requirement by filling out a form explaining why they cannot show ID or by presenting their ID at the county elections office by 5 p.m. November 14. In both cases, voters must fill out provisional ballots on election day.