Local & State

Problems at NC polls: Advocates urge action before November
Voter ID laws confuse at primary
 
Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 12:20 pm
By Stephanie Carson, N.C. News Service

RALEIGH – Although Tuesday's primary is behind us, problems experienced by voters at the polls continue to be reported to organizations such as Democracy North Carolina and the ACLU of North Carolina.

A call center staffed by law students at the University of North Carolina's School of Law received more than 1,000 calls.

While the voter ID law was in place, a court order prevented the end of same-day registration and the filing of provisional ballots.

Unless something changes, those new laws will be in place in November, according to Jen Jones, communications manager for Democracy North Carolina.

"Our concern is that these things will not be in place during the general election," she states. "So the voter confusion we saw, and the long lines and the frustration will be doubled, quadrupled during a general election where we're going to see very high turnout."

Complaints include understaffing, poorly trained election workers, incorrect application of the new voter ID law, failure to provide provisional ballots to voters and last-minute polling place changes.

With eight months before the November election, Jones says it's not too late for people to share their primary election experiences, so the system can be improved and rights can be protected.

"Sharing their stories now of problems at the polls helps us report them back to the State Board of Elections, report them back to the media and report them back importantly to the Legislature and the courts, so that we can hopefully get rid of the things in the future that aren't helping," she stresses.

North Carolina is one state political pundits predict will be a major factor in the outcome of the presidential race. Additionally, the state's gubernatorial race also will be decided.

Comments

Given all the system NC has in place to help people get ID necessary to preclude voter fraud, I'd be mortified to admit I'm not capable to doing so. Self-victimization.
Posted on March 18, 2016
 
I was chief judge in a precinct and we had no troubles relating to the new laws
Posted on March 18, 2016
 
It went great for me and my family ..no problems very professional staffers
Posted on March 17, 2016
 
I had no problems whatsoever. (It's hardly "rocket science" to get yourself in a position to cast a ballot, folks.)
Posted on March 17, 2016
 

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