Analysis: North Carolina Counties That Cut Early Voting Sites See Lower Turnout

[book_worm]

Seventeen North Carolina counties reduced the number of early voting locations from 2012. Of those, fifteen saw lower in-person turnout in the first two days of early voting in the state, Thursday and Friday, according to an analysis by Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor and a leading authority on voting rates.

Several of those counties, including Mecklenburg County, the state's largest, saw only modest drop-offs. But in at least six, the in-person voting rate declined by around 50 percent, McDonald found. And Guilford County, home to the predominantly African-American city of Greensboro, cut early voting locations from 16 to just one. It saw in-person voting decline from 21,560 votes in the first two days of the 2012 voting period to just 3,295 this year—a drop off of roughly 85 percent.

Most of the counties that added early voting sites or kept the same number saw increased turnout, McDonald found. The contrast appears to offer evidence that reducing voting locations can lead to lower turnout.

In Charlotte, which is in Mecklenburg County, some voters said they stood in line for three hours on Thursday, according to local reports. One man, deterred by the wait, left and returned in the afternoon, only to find the line longer than it was the first time. A woman told a reporter she would have to leave without voting, but would try again Sunday.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/analysis-north-carolina-counties-cut-early-voting-sites-see-lower-n671246

[LisaL]

1. That sucks.

[sunonmars]

2. Not rocket science to see what they are doing here, is it?

[LisaL]

7. Pretty clear.

You don't have to be any kind of scientist to figure out reducing hours and polling locations will reduce turnout.

[MissB]

3. And this is why I love vote by mail.

I vote at my leisure in my own home and drop it in a drop box on the way to work or the grocery store. The sooner I vote, the sooner the political calls and mailings stop. I love Oregon's vote by mail system!

[LisaL]

6. NC has a vote by mail option.

Traditionally preferred by republicans.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

10. Every state should have several voting options to accommodate all citizens

For me, voting in person is the most convenient for me. I live in an apartment community and my patio overlooks the library, which is my polling place. I can walk out my door, cross about 10 feet of grass and be in the library parking lot. To go to my mail box I have to walk 4 or 5 times as far. My mail carrier is also terrible. They refuse to deliver even certified mail that requires a signature to my door. I have had to complain about the carrier at least 6 times since April. I don't trust the US Postal Service with my ballot due to my awful experiences. I am currently without a car so I can't just drop it off somewhere.

All states need to have absentee, mail in, drop off, early in-person and many election day in-person polling locations. They should also add mobile polling centers similar to Blood Buses that let people donate blood. These centers could be sent to areas with long lines to help ease the wait.

[enough]

5. It's called rigging an election. (nt)

[Foggyhill]

8. The GOP makes me sick, cutting from 16 to 1, WTF justifications are there for this crap ---> kkk

[mnhtnbb]

9. I talked to a woman last night who said she stood in line 90 minutes to early vote in Durham NC

on the first day of early voting.

My husband voted yesterday. I'm going one day this coming week.

[wishstar]

11. Beginning Thurs Oct 27 though, Greensboro area will have about 25 sites open every day

Fortunately, there will still be many days of early voting before election day with even more sites open this year than 4 years ago but starting a week later.

We can only hope that Roy Cooper becomes Governor because with a Dem governor again, all election boards in every county will again be under Democratic control and full availability restored across the board of 2020.