Order Extends Early Voting in Counties Affected by Hurricane Dorian | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH, N.C.     Exercising her statutory emergency powers, State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell on Friday issued an order mandating additional early voting hours in the following 9th Congressional District counties affected by Hurricane Dorian:

• Bladen
• Cumberland
• Robeson
• Scotland

    Please refer to the attached order for updates to the early voting schedules in those counties.

    Because of the storm, these four counties closed their one-stop early voting sites for portions of the early voting period. Significant efforts have been made to tailor the remedy to the specific impacts from the storm on early voting. The hurricane did not affect early voting hours in the other four counties in the 9th Congressional District - Anson, Mecklenburg, Richmond and Union.

    "We are thankful that Hurricane Dorian did not cause significant damage to the southeastern part of our state, and are mindful of what other areas may still face," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. "We are committed to ensuring that voters in the 9th Congressional District can cast their ballots for the September 10 election. I have ordered affected counties in this district to open today and Saturday to make up for some of the missed hours of early voting and allow voters to same-day register if needed. This is an important election, so we encourage all eligible voters to make their voices heard."

    State law provides that the executive director, as the chief state elections official, may exercise emergency powers to conduct an election in districts where the normal schedule has been disrupted by a natural disaster. G.S. § 163A-750(a)(1). Any remedy must be calculated to offset the nature and scope of the disruption on voting and cannot be greater than that.

    Election Day in the 9th Congressional District is Tuesday, September 10. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

    The State Board continues to work with state and federal emergency management officials to assess conditions in the counties in the 3rd Congressional District and will issue an order for those counties as soon as possible.

    For updates on Hurricane Dorian's impact on voting in North Carolina, visit: https://www.ncsbe.gov/VotingandDisasters. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/NCSBE, and like our Facebook page, Facebook.com/NCSBE.

• Contact: Patrick Gannon
•     patrick.gannon@ncsbe.gov