Results slightly delayed in NC primary election. When to expect votes to come in
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State Board extended voting one hour at a Halifax County precinct, delaying reporting.
- State law bars releasing unofficial results while any poll is still open statewide.
- Counties may upload counts after 7:30 p.m. but must wait until 8:30 p.m. to publish.
Polls close in North Carolina’s March 3 primary election at 7:30 p.m., but observers will have to wait a bit longer than that to begin seeing results in the hundreds of contests on the ballot throughout the state.
The State Board of Elections voted unanimously to extend voting by one hour at a Halifax County precinct that had a minor issue setting up Tuesday morning.
While this extension only applies to one poll site, it affects the reporting timeline for the whole state.
State law prohibits election officials from releasing unofficial results while voting is still underway. That means the state will not begin reporting vote counts until 8:30 p.m.
Counties can still begin uploading results internally once polls close at 7:30, but they’ll have to wait an additional hour before releasing any information to the public.
Results can be found using the Election Results Dashboard on the State Board of Elections’ website.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 5:24 PM.
