NC Board of Elections cuts Sunday early voting hours, eliminates some college polling sites

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It was a tense back-and-forth with North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) members during their Tuesday meeting.

The board moved forward with plans to eliminate early in-person voting sites at colleges across the state, including at UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina University, Elon University, and North Carolina A&T State University, where students showed up, pushing back against the board's decisions, holding signs, and then having a small rally outside the building.

"They tried to silence us here, but they know that outside of that conference room, they cannot do anything to stop our voices from being heard here, " said one student

The early voting primary election plans were submitted to the state board of elections by a dozen counties after the local boards were unable to reach a unanimous decision, forcing the state to take the final say.

Some state board of election members cited proximity, logistics, and parking availability as some of the reasons for their decisions to pull the early voting sites from college campuses.

"I'm specifically thinking of the university sites. Can I drive in and park anywhere on the university without a pass?" asked one board member.

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Dr. Jarvis Hall is a political scientist and professor at North Carolina Central University. The school is an early voting site and has been for years. He's following what happened Tuesday closely.

"There are obvious efforts to suppress the votes of certain voters," said Hall. "One would think that everybody who is a part of the election process and the election apparatus would want the same thing. But obviously that's not the case. And of course, there are reasons for that."

The State Board of Elections members also voted to eliminate Sunday early voting hours in five counties, including Wayne and Harnett counties.

Hall said Sunday voting is synonymous with faith-based groups and their push to get out the vote. Some board members cited staffing and costs as reasons to push back against Sunday early voting hours.

"For some churches, especially here in Durham, it's like, when are we doing 'Souls to the Polls?' It becomes one of those vehicles that have been used in the past, that are being used now to get people out to vote. And again, with the technology that we have, we should be making voting easier, as opposed to making it more difficult," Hall said.

The in-person early voting period starts Feb. 12 and ends at 3 p.m. Feb. 28.

Primary election Day is March 3.