Agenda - 05-05-2016 - 4-c - March 15, 2016 Primary Election Report

Browse Search

6 ELECTION , ,1 PROTECTION aChr ET* North Carolina Primary-March 15th,2016 From the start of the early voting period through Election Day, the Election Protection hotlines, 888-OURVOTE (managed by Democracy NC)and 866-OURVOTE(managed by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law), received over 1200 calls from North Carolina voters. On Election Day,the hotlines received 988 calls from individuals with North Carolina area codes,with the majority of the calls fielded at UNC School of Law. While many callers had questions about registration status and polling place locations, Election Protection also received a number of calls from voters who encountered barriers to their ability to vote. 72 reports involved questions or problems with Voter ID,and 28 were to report long lines.A few voter stories are highlighted below: Long lines,students in a separate line,and a lack of provisional ballots: Election Protection received reports of long lines at multiple polling places in Buncombe County, including the Heavens Cloud Retreat Center and the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church. At the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church polling location, students were split into a separate line and had to wait,while other voters passed them in line. An Election Protection volunteer reported the issue to the Buncombe County Board of Elections, who said that they would speak with the poll workers at that location. Long-time voter not on voter roll at polling place where she has voted for last 30 years: A woman in Durham County went to her polling place where she has voted for the past 30 years but a poll worker could not find her on the voter rolls. After searching the voter rolls several times and then asking the chief judge for help,the poll worker offered the voter a provisional ballot. The voter did not want to vote provisionally and went to the Board of Elections where she waited in line for another 45 minutes before she was able to cast a regular ballot. An Election Protection volunteer was able to verify her voter registration status and noted that she has voted in 62 previous elections. The voter indicated she was concerned for other voters who may not have had the time or resources to follow up in the way she did in order to ensure that they cast a ballot that counts. Election Protection Helps 93-Year-Old Voter to Cast a Ballot: A 93-year-old voter was initially denied a ballot after attempting to vote with an expired ID. After she left the polling place, a Democracy'NC poll monitor and Election Protection hotline volunteer informed her of her right to vote with the ID. Armed with this information, she went back to the polling place, informed the poll workers that she should be allowed to vole with an expired ID (as she is over the age of 70),and was allowed to cast her vote. No notification of last minute polling place location: At North Carolina Central University, the polling place was moved from the student union to the law school. This change was not reflected on the Durham County Board of Elections website for most of the day, and no signs were present indicating the change and directing voters to the new location. An Election Protection volunteer created a sign to inform voters of the move and redirected over 100 people to the new polling location. Many of the voters were elderly and had trouble getting across campus, which included a steep hill. As of 4:15 p.m. EDT, several hours after the opening of the polls,the Durham County Board of Elections appeared to have updated their website. Voters waiting for hours in Wilmington,Durham: Long lines were reported at the VFW polling location in Wilmington where voters were waiting over an hour to vote, many of whom were elderly. An Election Protection volunteer encouraged voters to stay in line, but counted at least 17 people who left the polling location without casting a ballot. Similarly, long lines were reported at multiple polling locations in Durham. At 7:30pm,there were over 200 voters in line at the East Regional Library.