Support Strong Elections in Your County

Advocating for Better Early Voting

Given the importance  of 2020 decision-making on your county’s Early Voting plans, it’s vital to have Early Voting advocates like you year-round and ready to take action for your communities. During the current 17-day one-stop period, counties are required to offer Early Voting on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and  between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the final Saturday prior to Election Day.

NOTE: On July 17, 2020, the State Board of Elections issued an emergency order mandating all 100 North Carolina counties provide safe and secure voting access, including added sites, hours, and options for Early Voting. The order includes the following requirements:

• All county boards of elections must open each early voting site for at least 10 hours on the weekends of October 17-18 and October 24-25.
• Each county board must open at least one early voting site per 20,000 registered voters in the county. A county board of elections may apply for a waiver if its proposed plan sufficiently serves the voting population, maintains social distancing and reduces the likelihood of long lines.
• Any county board with only one early voting site must arrange for a backup site and backup staff.
• County boards may open early voting sites before 8 a.m. and remain open later than 7:30 p.m., provided that the sites all open at the same time.

6 Ways You Can Help Fight for Early Voting in 2020:

#1 – Watch our Early Voting Advocacy Training, full of expert guidance on how to help you win good Early Voting plans.

#2 – Counties are considering Early Voting plans now. Look up your county board of elections and contact them to find out when the next meeting will be.

# 3 – Print our Early Voting Advocacy Packet, full of resources to learn the best ways to influence the hours and locations your county offers voters during Early Voting and a paper report form for documenting what happens.

#4 – Check out our letters to county election officials with specific recommendations on prioritizing Early Voting locations and days.

# 5 – Review prior county Early Voting plans and use it as a guide to prep & advocate for similar (or better) plans in 2020.

• 2020 Primary Early Voting Plans
• 2018 General Early Voting Plans
• 2016 General Early Voting Plans
• 2012 General Early Voting Plans
• 2008 General Early Voting Plans

# 6 – Want to quickly share out information about Early Voting discussions and planning from your County Board of Elections meeting? Fill out our EV Advocacy Report Form. 

Questions? For more information about how to advocate for better Early Voting Plans, please contact elections@democracync.org or call 888-OUR-VOTE.

Monitoring Elections-related County Meetings 

The way voting laws are applied in North Carolina is often decided at the local level. We need to understand how the election system operates locally to make sure it works fairly. To be most effective, that means:

• monitoring the actions of your county board of elections and county commission,
• attending monthly board of elections and commission meetings,
• developing relationships with county board of elections members and commissioners, and
• raising our voices in support of good election budgets and voting options at crucial times.

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