Buncombe elections board keeps early-voting hours after storm changes; public criticizes decision

The Buncombe County Board of Elections on Oct. 29 finalized a revised early-voting plan that staff said was necessary after Hurricane Helene damaged some planned sites and stretched poll-worker resources. Director Duncan told the board the office had planned for the election for years and that staff had logged nearly 2,000 hours in emergency preparations; she said site changes and staffing limits made additional evening hours infeasible.

The board member who voted against extending hours said the change would have added roughly 50 additional hours of early voting across sites and could have risked "the integrity of our election," arguing the "juice is not worth the squeeze" when weighing added turnout against staff and operational risk. Director Duncan described logistical complexities including reprinting informational cards, notifying the public about multiple plan versions, and coordinating payroll and poll-worker assignments.

The decision drew a heated public response during the comment period. Rondell Lance, a member of the public, accused the board of denying working men and women the chance to vote after work and called the vote a partisan ploy: "Will you not cease to pervert the right to voters to fulfill their civic duty?" Board members replied that the plan had been developed publicly, that the office maintained outreach channels, and that Buncombe had met site-count requirements under recent state legislation.

Board members noted outreach efforts to affected populations, including shuttle routes from shelters to early-voting locations and in-person visits to shelters to assist displaced residents with voter-ID needs. Director Duncan said the office had distributed a media and observer packet, a maintaining-order memo and a law-enforcement reference guide to help poll workers and observers operate consistently during the election.

The board also discussed compliance with a state measure (referred to in the meeting as Senate Bill 132 / Session Law 2024-52) that requires certain counties to open at least one early voting site per 30,000 registered voters; members said Buncombe's 14 planned sites exceeded that requirement and therefore the county was in compliance.

The board emphasized that the early-voting plan would be administered to protect voters and staff and to minimize legal exposure that could lead to post-election challenges. No further board action was taken on hours; the board said it would proceed with the adopted schedule while continuing outreach and operational monitoring.