“Early voting reduced in 23 NC counties; 9 drop Sunday voting after NCGOP memo”

News & Observer:

While Republicans hold a majority on the local elections board in each of the state’s 100 counties, 70 boards voted to offer more early voting hours than they’d had in the 2012 presidential election, while 23 cut hours from 2012.

Of the 21 counties that offered Sunday voting in 2012, nine voted to eliminate it, while 12 agreed to keep Sunday hours.

Some of the decisions are awaiting review by the State Board of Elections. In 33 counties, local election boards had split votes, which means their early voting schedules will be determined by the state board when it meets Thursday….

Thursday’s state board meeting might not be the final action for the 33 counties with disputed early voting schedules: Hall said some of the schedules could be challenged in court if the state board upholds plans that limit minority voting by dropping Sunday voting or polling sites in African-American communities.

The reduction of Sunday voting was a major concern of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals when it rejected the voter ID law. Its ruling said the law’s “provisions target African Americans with almost surgical precision.”

“The state board has to weigh the reality that the 4th Circuit is looking at what they’re doing,” Hall said.

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