10/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/15/2024 11:20
The following are the prepared remarks for Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections, at a press availability on Oct. 15, 2024:
Watch full recording of press availability (MP4)
Good morning, and thank you for being here again to help get accurate information to North Carolina voters.
I'm Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. I'm here with Paul Cox, general counsel to the State Board, who will help me answer your questions after my remarks.
We are here today to discuss the start of 17 days of in-person, early voting in all 100 North Carolina counties this Thursday.
In-person early voting has been the most popular form of voting in recent general elections, and we expect that will continue in 2024.
In 2020, for example, 65 percent of North Carolina voters chose in-person early voting as their voting method. And back in the presidential election of 2016, 62 percent of NC voters chose to vote early.
In all, 419 early voting sites will open across North Carolina on Thursday. Voters may cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county. Schedules vary by county, though early voting ends at all early voting sites at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2.
We are very proud of this next statistic. Despite the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, 76 early voting sites will open to voters on Thursday in the 25 western North Carolina counties listed in the federal disaster declaration. Before the storm, 80 sites were planned, so we just lost a few, despite the extensive damage, loss of power, water, internet and phone service and the washing out of roads throughout the region.
An enormous amount of credit goes to our emergency management and FEMA partners, power companies, and, of course, the county boards of elections in the western part of the state. To have almost all early voting sites open after such a devastating storm is an effort all North Carolinians should be proud of. We are especially grateful to residents of western North Carolina who suffered greatly from the storm but who will show up to work at early voting sites this week.
The people of western North Carolina will vote.
The best way to find your county's early voting schedule is through the Early Voting Site Search tool on the State Board's website, ncsbe.gov.
A few more important reminders before we take your questions:
As always, we encourage all eligible North Carolinians to cast their ballot and make their voice heard in this important election. Election officials across North Carolina will make sure your vote counts.