Forsyth to consider 4-hour extension of early voting

By: John Hinton | JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
Published: October 31, 2008

The Forsyth County Board of Elections will meet at noon Saturday to decide whether to keep the polls open until 5 p.m. that day.

The polls for early voting were scheduled to close at 1 p.m., but the State Board of Elections has ordered all 100 counties in North Carolina to keep early-voting sites open for an extra four hours unless local officials unanimously decide that it is unnecessary.

Rob Coffman, the county's elections director, said that the extended hours would probably cost about $10,000, but that figure could rise if additional hours are needed. Once a voter gets in line, the polling places have to remain open until everyone has voted, he said.

"It's really hard to estimate the cost of it," Coffman said.

In an emergency meeting yesterday, the state elections board unanimously agreed to extend Saturday's early-voting hours to 5. The meeting came after Mecklenburg and Guilford counties sought permission to keep the sites from closing at 1 p.m. as scheduled.

The decision to alter the early voting highlights the remarkable turnout and long lines seen across North Carolina -- which has become a surprise swing state in the presidential election -- since early voting began two weeks ago.

Through Wednesday night, more than 1.7 million people statewide-- or 30 percent of registered voters -- had voted at one-stop sites.

In Forsyth County, any extra voting hours Saturday won't affect Jeremy and Emily Luckett. They were close to getting inside the Southside branch of the Forsyth County Library on Buchanan Street, an early-voting site, after waiting in line for about an hour yesterday.

Jeremy Luckett, a resident at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said that even if the hours are extended Saturday, yesterday was still the best opportunity for him to vote.

"I kind of expected a crowd this year," he said. "It's a close race."

Brenda Clarke also said that the additional hours would not have benefited her. She was among the last in line at the Southside branch, but she was excited about voting.

"I think it's an historic election no matter how you slice it. I think Tuesday is going to be crazy," Clarke said, referring to the regular Election Day.

Election supervisors in Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties were trying to reach elections-board members yesterday to schedule meetings about the possibility of extending early-voting hours. Although voting has been steady, waits in those counties have been short.

Ashe has already extended its hours, with polling places staying open an extra three hours on Friday nights, said the county's elections supervisor, John Shepherd.

In Watauga, more than 15,000 people have cast ballots so far. That's about a third more early voters than in the presidential election four years ago, but people have not encountered long lines, said Jane Hodges, the county's elections supervisor.

Surry County expects to close at 1 p.m. Saturday, election officials said.

In Alleghany and Yadkin counties, the boards of elections had not made a decision.

■ Journal reporters Paul Garber, Monte Mitchell and Sherry Youngquist contributed to this article.