North Carolina’s State Board of Elections extended voting hours at five precincts in four counties on Tuesday, citing technical problems. It also turned down requests for more time from three other counties, including two that strongly supported Donald Trump in 2024.
The affected sites were in Columbus, Hertford, Lenoir, and Wilson Counties. The board said unofficial results would not be released anywhere in the state until the final polling place closed at 8:15 p.m.
In Columbus County, a computer system at the South Williams precinct in the Tabor City Courthouse briefly failed. Election workers switched to a backup system, and officials said no voters were turned away. The precinct received an extra 45 minutes.
Printer trouble delayed the opening of the K8 precinct at Holloway Recreation Center in Kinston by about 45 minutes, Lenoir County Elections Director Kristie Smith told the board. The precinct was granted an additional 30 minutes.
Two Hertford County locations also received extensions: Como Fire and Rescue stayed open 25 minutes longer, while the Murfree Center in Murfreesboro received 30 extra minutes. Wilson’s city recreation building got an additional 15 minutes.
Under state law, voters arriving after 7:30 p.m. at the five sites would cast provisional ballots.
Hertford County voted 62.9% for Kamala Harris in 2024. Harris also carried Wilson County by a narrower margin. Columbus County supported Trump by 66.6%, while he won Lenoir County with about 53% of the vote.
At the precinct level, Harris won Kinston’s K8 precinct with 94.3% of the vote. She also received roughly 70% in the affected precincts in Como and Murfreesboro. Trump won South Williams with 63.5%.
The board denied requests for extended hours from Gates, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties. Trump won Wilkes by 79.3% and Gates by 60.3% in 2024; Watauga narrowly backed Harris, with about 52% of the vote.
In Gates County, voting started late because the person with the key to the polling place arrived behind schedule. A computer issue delayed voting in Wilkes County by at least 20 minutes, while a voter needing an escort caused a similar delay in Watauga.
State elections director Sam Hayes described the problems as routine, noting that elections can involve power outages, tabulator issues, printer jams, or longer-than-expected lines. He said such disruptions were not signs of malicious activity and that procedures were in place to address them.
