NC expects to count 97% of votes on Election Night, but races may be too close to call
The results of most political races in North Carolina could be clear by the end of Election Day this year, despite extended mail-in deadlines and a record number of people voting by mail because of coronavirus.
That’s because in North Carolina, unlike in some other states, elections officials are allowed to count mail-in ballots as they arrive, instead of waiting until Election Day to get started. So after the polls close on Election Day, this Tuesday, state officials should know the results of everyone who voted that day and during early voting, plus most mail-in ballots.
The deadline for mail-in ballots to arrive has been extended until Nov. 12, as long as they’re postmarked by Tuesday. But most people who requested mail-in ballots have already sent them back in.
As of Sunday morning, more than 900,000 mail-in ballots had been received, on top of more than 3.6 million votes cast in person during the early voting period that ended Saturday, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. The board announced Sunday that it expects to have at least 97% of this year’s votes counted in the hours after the polls close for good Tuesday night.
Still, people should be prepared for the possibility that we won’t know the winner of particularly close races until later this month — or maybe even longer.
“Please remember that all results reported on election night are unofficial. We will post results as quickly as possible, but our primary objective will be accuracy more than speed,” state elections director Karen Brinson Bell said in a written statement Sunday. “State and county elections officials take many steps after every election to ensure all eligible votes are counted and the results are audited and accurate.”
Even though the 3% of votes that could still be uncounted by the end of election night may seem small, that’s more than enough to swing close races.
In 2016, for example, the governor’s race came down to about 0.2% of the vote. And the presidential races in North Carolina in 2008, 2012 and 2016 were all decided by between 0.3% and 3.7% of the vote.
Mail delays and extended deadline
State elections officials extended the deadline for mail-in ballots to arrive this year, from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12. Republican lawmakers sued to try to stop that, saying they should be in charge of deciding the deadline, but the U.S. Supreme Court let the new deadline stand.
The Washington Post reported Friday that after the new head of the U.S. Postal Service ordered high-speed mail sorting machines to be “disassembled or used for scrap” earlier this year, delays in the mail are continuing. And the delays are particularly pronounced in key swing states for the presidential election, including in North Carolina and Michigan as well as parts of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
“Absentee ballots are taking longer to reach election offices in key swing states than in the rest of the country,” The Washington Post reported, citing Postal Service data revealed in a recent lawsuit.
Who’s on the ballot
In addition to being a key swing state in the presidential race, North Carolina could also help decide which political party controls the U.S. Senate for at least the next two years. There are also races for governor, attorney general and the rest of the state’s executive branch offices, plus the entire state legislature and numerous seats on both the N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals. There are also many more local races.
If you haven’t voted yet and want to learn more about the candidates on your ballot, The News & Observer has an extensive voter guide with candidate biographies and Q&As in most of the biggest elections around the state. It’s available online at www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/voter-guide.
However, The N&O voter guide doesn’t contain every race in the state, particularly some of the smaller local races. You can find a full sample ballot, and the location of your Election Day polling place, by looking up your name at vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup.
How to vote in NC
More than half of the registered voters in North Carolina have already cast a ballot, either by mail or during early voting, which ended Saturday.
But for people who want to vote on Election Day itself, the polls will open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. And for areas with long waits, anyone who is in line by 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote, even if it takes until later in the night to actually finish voting.
“The busiest times tend to be early in the morning and just before the polls close,” the N.C. Elections board advises on its website. “Avoid longer lines by voting at off-peak times.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
