Registration lists hint at long lines on Election Day

An elections watchdog group warned Monday that voters could face long lines at the polls in November, judging from increases in voter registration. "You can look ahead and see this horrible traffic jam," Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a Durham-based research and advocacy center, said in a news release.

Hall urged election officials to add more staff and one-stop voting venues before Election Day.

"I think we're sounding the alarm that county boards need to get prepared," Hall said in a phone interview Monday.

Statewide voter registration reached nearly 5.9 million as of last week, an increase of nearly 5 percent since Jan. 5. In April alone, 100,000 voters were added just before the May primary, according to Democracy North Carolina.

Democrats have added eight times as many voters as Republicans since the beginning of the year, Hall said. He noted that there are fewer registered Republicans today in 15 counties than in January, including Durham and Orange.

Hall's analysis shows one-third of new voters are black, two out of five live in the state's six largest counties, and 10,000 identify themselves as Hispanic.

In the next few weeks, county boards of elections will complete plans for how many polling sites to open during North Carolina's 17-day early voting period from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1.

"If boards can make voting earlier, it relieves stress on Election Day," Hall said. "The only way not to have long lines is to increase early voting sites."

The new state budget, combined with federal funds, provides more than $2 million for counties to open additional early voting sites, for more days, with increased staffing to handle same-day registration, Hall said.

Several counties, including Wake and Durham, plan to extend hours, the release said. But Hall said some counties don't realize grants are available to help them keep polls open.

More than 2 million voters cast ballots in the May primary -- double the previous record for a North Carolina primary -- and all the key factors boosting turnout will be present again in November, the release said.

"Those factors include North Carolina's first competitive presidential election in a generation, other hotly contested races, a surge in voter registration, the wild card of same-day registration and voting, and new levels of enthusiasm among young and African-American voters," the release said.