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Early Voting Bill Would Change North Carolina Schedule, Time

Erik Hersman

Republican lawmakers are looking again at changing the rules on early voting, a popular idea which has prompted legal action.A House committee voted Thursday to change the 17-day early-voting schedule and require more consistent voting times during that period.

The proposal would end the early-voting period statewide on the Friday evening before a primary or election day.

Currently counties must offer voting until the Saturday afternoon before the election. Counties also would have to open all of their early voting sites from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and be required to keep uniform hours if sites are open on weekends.

The legislature passed an election law in 2013 reducing the number of early-voting days from 17 to 10, but federal judges struck that down, citing racial bias.

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