Some voters in line hours after Triangle polls close
North Carolina voters hit the polls for Tuesday's primary elections and there were reports of long lines at some polling places.
In fact, with races long called, people were still in line waiting to vote at 11 p.m. at some locations, including the Durham East Regional Library and the Pullen Community Center in Raleigh.
A record number of primary voters were going to the polls across North Carolina.
That led to very long lines and people waiting to vote well after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m.
Forest View Elementary in Durham was another site where voters waited to cast ballots well after dark.
The State Board of Elections held an emergency public meeting by teleconference to consider extending closing times at precincts affected by delays in excess of 15 minutes.
In every election, a voting place opens at 6:30 a.m. and shall be closed at 7:30 p.m. If the polls are delayed in opening for more than 15 minutes, or are interrupted for more than 15 minutes after opening, the State Board of Elections may extend the closing time by an equal number of minutes. They decided to extend the closing time in certain precincts in Edgecombe and Carrabus counties by 30 minutes.
Officials said in Carrabus County, a precinct judge did not show up on time. In Edgecombe, voting was affected by a lockdown at a middle school.
"I thought I'd need to get out early before the crowd got here," said voter James Brown of Wake County. "It's important to vote because the politicians make the decisions about what goes on in our everyday lives."
