These Election Day Polling Places Will Stay Open Late
It inevitably happens every Election Day: A computer doesn’t boot up. Or the printer at a precinct isn’t printing the ballots correctly. Maybe the chief election judge got stuck in traffic and arrived at their precinct late. Whatever the case, there’s always some precincts around the country that end up opening their polls late, leading to long lines of voters — some of whom end up leaving because they can’t stay.
And that’s where courts and state election offices step in to ensure every person who wants to vote has an opportunity to, without violating any statues. This often takes the form of a court order or State Board of Elections guidance to allow certain precincts to permit voting later than usual.
Democracy Docket is tracking the polling places that are now open later, thanks to a court order or a similar ruling.
Multiple precincts in St. Clair County, Alabama
Polls now close at 9 p.m.
Election officials in St. Clair County discovered that ballots were printed and sent to precincts without the option for voters to weigh in on a statewide amendment for land use, AL.com reports.
The ballots were reprinted correctly but because of the error, many precincts in St. Clair County opened late. The St. Clair County Circuit Court issued an order to extend the polling hours at the affected precinct by two hours, so they now close at 9 p.m. The affected precincts are: Ashville City Hall, Poplar Springs Church, Argo Town Hall, Wattsville Volunteer Fire, Celebrations, New Long Volunteer Fire, Boys & Girls Club, Cook Springs Baptist Church, Moody Civic Center, Cropwell Baptist Church, Prescott Baptist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, Whites Chapel Town Hall and Cedar Grove Baptist Church.
Multiple precincts in DeKalb County, Georgia
Polls now close between 7:38 p.m. and 8:29 p.m.
Fake bomb threats were called into five precincts in DeKalb County earlier today: New Bethel AME Church, New Life Community Center, North DeKalb Senior Center, Reid H. Cofer Library, Wesley Chapel Library and the Briarwood Recreation Center. As a result, a judge ruled that these precincts stay open later. Here are the new poll closing times:
New Bethel AME Church: 7:38 p.m.
New Life Community Center: 7:38 p.m.
North DeKalb Senior Center: 8:29 p.m.
Reid H. Cofer Library: 7:38 p.m.
Wesley Chapel Library: 8:03 p.m.
Briarwood Recreation Center: 8:22 p.m.
Mount Paran Church of God and Kell High School precincts in Cobb County, Georgia
Polls now close at: 7:20 p.m.
Two precincts in Cobb County — Mount Paran Church of God and Kell High School — experienced delays this morning that led to them opening up their polls at 7:20 a.m., 20 minutes after they were required to open under state law.
The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration filed a petition, which the court granted, to extend the hours for in-person voting at the two precincts until 7:20 p.m., in order to give any voters who had to leave because of the delay a chance to cast their ballots.
Learn more about the case here.
Multiple precincts in Fulton County, Georgia
Polls now close between 7:10 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
Due to fake bomb threats called to various precincts in Fulton County, polls are extended in these precincts: Etris Darnell Community Center is open until 7:45 p.m., C.H. Gullatt Elementary School is open until 7:15 p.m., Southwest Arts Center is open until 7:43 p.m., Northwood Elementary School is open until 7:45 p.m. and Lake Forest Elementary School is open until 7:10 p.m.
Mountain Park Aquatic Center & Activity Building precinct in Gwinnett County, Georgia
Poll now closes at 8 p.m.
Due to the fake bomb threat called into the Mountain Park Aquatic Center & Activity Building precinct in Gwinnett County, voters can cast their ballots until 8 p.m.
Golden Isles Baptist Church precinct in Glynn County, Georgia
Poll now closes at 7:35 p.m.
A fake bomb threat called into the Golden Isles Baptist Church precinct in Glynn County briefly shut down voting. Voters can now cast their ballots until 7:35 p.m.
Burlington County, New Jersey
Polls now close at 9 p.m.
Due to long wait times in Burlington County, a judge granted a request from New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) to extend voting hours at all precincts in the county. Polls now close in Burlington County at 9 p.m.
Gardners School precincts in Wilson County, North Carolina
Poll now closes at 8 p.m.
Poll workers at the Gardners School precinct in Wilson County had trouble printing voter authorization forms when they opened this morning, leading to a long line and some voters leaving, according to WBTV. The issue was fixed by 8:07 a.m., but the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted to extend voting hours by 30 minutes at the precinct because of the issue. The precinct will now be open until 8 p.m.
Pilot Mountain precinct in Burke County, North Carolina
Poll now closes at 8 p.m.
After printer problems delayed the opening of the Pilot Mountain precinct in Burke County, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted to extend voting by 30 minutes. According to reporting from The Carolina Journal, a laptop did not boot up and IT had to come fix the issue. Voting at the Pilot Mountain precinct will now end at 8 p.m.
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Polls now close at: 10 p.m.
Cambria County’s Electronic Voting System (EVS) experienced a software malfunction in the early hours of Election Day, which prevented voters from properly scanning their ballots and led to confusion and long lines.
Because of the issue, the Cambria County Board of Elections filed a lawsuit to extend the hours for in-person voting. The court quickly granted the emergency petition, allowing in-person voting in Cambria County to continue until 10 p.m.
Learn more about the case here.
Government Services Center precinct in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Polls now close at: 10 p.m.
Due to hoax bomb threats called to two polling places at the Government Services Center, voting has been extended to 10 p.m. at neighboring polling places for the affected voters who were evacuated.
Laflin Borough Precinct in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Poll now closes at: 9:30 p.m.
The Laflin Borough polling location in Luzerne County didn’t open this morning until 8:30 a.m. — 90 minutes after it was scheduled to open. Because of this, the Luzerne County Elections Bureau and the Luzerne County Board of Elections and Registration filed a petition to extend voting hours at the location.
The court swiftly granted the request for an extension to stay open, meaning the Laflin Borough polling location will now close at 9:30 p.m.