North Carolina Board Extends Voting at Five Precincts in Four Counties After Technical Stoppages; First Statewide Results Now Expected About 8:15 p.m. Eastern, State Says
The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to keep five precincts open past the 7:30 p.m. Eastern close after computer, printer and other stoppages interrupted voting. Because of the extensions, the board says it will not post unofficial statewide results until all polls are closed, about 8:15 p.m. Eastern (7:15 p.m. Central). Ballots cast after 7:30 at those sites are provisional.
North Carolina's State Board of Elections voted Tuesday afternoon to extend voting at five precincts in four counties, and the board says that means the state will not post any unofficial statewide results until about 8:15 p.m. Eastern (7:15 p.m. Central). Polls elsewhere in the state still close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
What the board says. In a press release dated November 3, 2026, the board says it extended hours at the five precincts "due to stoppages in voting during the day," and that the problems varied by county. It says state law lets it extend hours only where voting was interrupted for at least 15 minutes, only for as long as the disruption lasted, and only at the affected sites. The release says all votes cast by voters who arrive at those sites after 7:30 p.m. will be provisional. It says the board will not publish unofficial statewide results until all polls are closed, so first results are expected around 8:15 p.m. Eastern. The board notes the state has about 2,625 polling places and calls minor disruptions "not unusual."
Which precincts. Columbus County, South Williams-Tabor City Courthouse, 110 W. Fourth St., Tabor City: open until 8:15 p.m. Eastern. Hertford County, Como Fire and Rescue Building, 1201 U.S. 258 North, Como: open until 7:55 p.m. Hertford County also has Murfreesboro 1, which Spectrum News reports will stay open until 8 p.m. Lenoir County, K8 Holloway Recreation Center, 100 N. Myrtle Ave., Kinston: open until 8 p.m. Wilson County, Wilson City Recreation Building, 500 Sunset Road: open until 7:45 p.m. We took the Columbus and Como times and the release's overall description from the board's release. The Murfreesboro, Lenoir and Wilson times come from Spectrum News and WITN, which reported the same decisions.
What caused the delays. Spectrum News reports a computer outage in Columbus County and a printer problem in Lenoir County. The Associated Press, in its live coverage carried by PBS News, says workers in Columbus County switched to backup paper poll books after computer problems, which slowed lines Tuesday morning. Conservative Daily News, citing WECT, reports no one was turned away in Columbus County. We have not independently confirmed that. The board's executive director, Sam Hayes, said glitches such as power outages, tabulator problems and printer jams come up in every election and "are not indications of malicious activity," according to The NC Beat as quoted by Conservative Daily News. We did not read The NC Beat's report directly.
Who may still vote. WWAY reports the board says voters already in line at 7:30 p.m. may cast a regular ballot. Voters who arrive after 7:30 p.m. at the five extended sites must vote provisionally. Polls at other North Carolina sites are scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The board's release says it will not publish results while voting continues.
What it means for the races we track. Our Election Headquarters follows the North Carolina Senate race and two U.S. House districts, NC-1 and NC-11. The Associated Press has not called any of them. We found no reporting that the extensions will change any result. The delay affects when the first unofficial totals appear, not who can vote. All results from the state's site will be unofficial until the state certifies them.
Elsewhere. In Pennsylvania, the Chester County Court of Common Pleas granted a 30-minute extension, to 8:30 p.m. Eastern, at three precincts where machine set-up problems delayed opening this morning, according to the county as reported by PHL17 and WGAL. Those voters casting ballots after 8 p.m. will use provisional ballots. In Georgia, officials asked a judge to extend voting by seven minutes at Rockbridge Elementary School in Norcross after a school safety drill paused voting, WSB Radio reports. We do not know yet whether the judge granted it.
What we could not check. We did not hear from the affected county boards directly or see the board's meeting recording. Spectrum News, WITN and the board's own release do not fully agree on every minute count, and we have given the board's times where it published them. We do not know how many voters were affected at any site. If you have a problem at your polling place, contact your county board of elections. The state board's results page is the place to watch for unofficial totals once polls close.
Sources: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "State Board Extends Voting in 5 Precincts in 4 Counties," Nov. 3, 2026: https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2026/11/03/state-board-extends-voting-5-precincts-4-counties. Spectrum News, "Voting hours extended at handful of sites after minor disruptions," Nov. 3, 2026: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2026/11/03/nc-voting-extended-columbus-lenoir-. WITN, "Lenoir County site, three others get extended polling hours," Nov. 3, 2026: https://www.witn.com/2026/11/03/lenoir-county-site-among-four-others-that-have-extended-polling-hours/. WWAY, "Columbus County polling site extends voting hours to 8:15 p.m. after technical issue": https://www.wwaytv3.com/columbus-county-polling-site-extends-voting-hours-to-815-p-m-after-technical-issue. PBS News, Associated Press live updates, entries at 4:11 p.m. Eastern: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-updates-midterm-voters-go-to-the-polls-on-election-day. Conservative Daily News, "Some Polls Will Stay Open Late in Pennsylvania and Georgia; North Carolina Weighs Extensions" (citing WECT and The NC Beat): https://conservativedailynews.com/2026/11/some-polls-will-stay-open-late-in-pennsylvania-and-georgia-north-carolina-weighs-extensions. PHL17, "Chester County extends voting hours at 3 precincts until 8:30 p.m.": https://phl17.com/phl17-news/election-updates-chester-county-extends-voting-hours-at-3-precincts-until-830-p-m/. WGAL, "Voting hours extended for three Chester County polling locations": https://www.wgal.com/article/pa-election-voting-hours-extended-for-three-chester-county-polling-locations/74324746. WSB Radio, "School safety drill delays voting at metro area elementary school": https://wsbradio.com/news/local/school-safety-drill-delays-voting-metro-area-elementary-school/OOORRI5ASVGW7H3I4I2ZOJZG64. Our Election Headquarters: /election/