N.C. and Pa. Extend Voting at Precincts Hit by Election Day Glitches; Late Voters Must Use Provisional Ballots

Election officials in North Carolina and a Pennsylvania court extended voting hours at a handful of polling places on Tuesday after equipment problems delayed or disrupted voting, and under state and federal law, anyone who votes during the extra time must use a provisional ballot.

North Carolina's Extension

The North Carolina State Board of Elections extended voting at five polling places in four counties during an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon, Spectrum News reported. According to that report, the South Williams-Tabor City Courthouse precinct in Columbus County will stay open until 8:15 p.m. after a computer outage; the Holloway Recreation Center in Lenoir County until 8 p.m. after a printer problem; Como Fire and Rescue in Hertford County until 7:55 p.m. and the Murfreesboro 1 precinct until 8 p.m.; and the Wilson City Recreation Building in Wilson County until 7:45 p.m.

The Columbus County elections director told WECT that the computer system at the Tabor City Courthouse went down temporarily, that workers switched to an emergency backup system and that no voters were turned away.

The board's emergency meeting notice, which The Digital Free Press reviewed, had listed precincts in Columbus, Gates, Lenoir, Watauga, Wilkes and Wilson counties, including the Boone 2 precinct at Appalachian State University's student union, plus "multiple precincts" in Hertford County. The extensions reported by Spectrum News did not include the Gates, Watauga or Wilkes precincts.

State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes described the problems reported in Hertford, Gates, Wilson and Lenoir counties as "technical glitches," including a printer jam and confusion involving electronic pollbooks, WECT reported.

Under North Carolina law, G.S. 163-166.25, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. If a polling place opens more than 15 minutes late, or is interrupted for more than 15 minutes, "the State Board may extend the closing time by an equal number of minutes."

Because no North Carolina county may release vote totals until every precinct in the state has closed, the latest extension, to 8:15 p.m., also pushes back the first statewide results, WECT reported.

Chester County, Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, the Chester County Court of Common Pleas "granted a petition for a 30-minute extension of voting hours at three precincts due to machine set-up issues that briefly delayed the opening of those polling locations this morning," according to a notice posted by Chester County Voter Services.

The three precincts, Easttown 3 at the Easttown Township Library in Berwyn, Easttown 6 at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Devon, and East Goshen 2 at Goshen Baptist Church in West Chester, will stay open until 8:30 p.m. The county said "votes cast after 8:00pm will utilize provisional ballots." All other Chester County precincts close at 8 p.m., and the ballot drop box at the Easttown library closes at 8 p.m.

Why Late Ballots Are Provisional

The federal Help America Vote Act, at 52 U.S.C. 21082(c), says anyone who votes in a federal election "as a result of a Federal or State court order or any other order extending the time established for closing the polls" may vote only by provisional ballot, and those ballots "shall be separated and held apart from other provisional ballots."

North Carolina's statute says the same. Ballots cast after 7:30 p.m. under an extension order must be provisional and "held apart," and they are added to the official count only if the order "has not been reversed or stayed by the time of the county canvass." North Carolina law also lets anyone in line when the polls close at 7:30 p.m. vote, and state officials said those voters may cast a regular ballot, WECT reported.

Seeing election problems at your polling place? Contact The Digital Free Press at tips@thedigitalfreepress.com.

Sources: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "State Board Emergency Meeting (Nov. 3, 2026)" (https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2026/11/03/state-board-emergency-meeting-nov-3-2026); N.C. Gen. Stat. 163-166.25 (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-166.25.html); WECT, "Computer outage prompts extended voting hours in Columbus County" (https://www.wect.com/2026/11/03/nc-board-elections-consider-extending-poll-hours-some-counties/); Chester County Voter Services, "NOTICE - Extended Voting Hours for 3 Precincts" (https://www.chesco.org/156/Voter-Services); 52 U.S.C. 21082 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/21082); 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-); Cover photo: "Raleigh - North Carolina State Capitol" by P. Hughes, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.