Columbus County Voting Extended After Computer Outage

Columbus County voting hours extend by 45 minutes following computer outage

A temporary computer system failure at the Tabor City Courthouse has forced election officials to extend voting hours in Columbus County, WECT reported. The South Williams precinct will now remain open until 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday to accommodate voters affected by the technical disruption.

North Carolina's State Board of Elections has extended voting at the Tabor City Courthouse in Columbus County by 45 minutes, until 8:15 p.m. ET, following an emergency meeting. Four other polling locations have received shorter extensions, delaying election results in affected…

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The outage at the Tabor City location prompted the North Carolina State Board of Elections to intervene and authorize the extension. While the Columbus County elections director confirmed that the computer system went down temporarily, officials noted that election workers successfully activated an emergency backup system during the downtime. No voters were turned away while the system was offline.

This localized delay carries a significant ripple effect for the entire state’s election timeline. Because North Carolina law prohibits any county from releasing official vote totals until every single precinct across the state has closed, the 45-minute extension in Columbus County will delay the reporting of results statewide.

Technical glitches reported across multiple North Carolina counties

The issues in Columbus County appear to be part of a broader series of technical difficulties reported throughout the state on Election Day. Sam Hayes, the Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, noted that officials also reported minor delays in several other jurisdictions, including Hertford, Gates, Wilson, and Lenoir counties.

Hayes characterized these incidents as “technical glitches,” which included specific hardware and software hurdles such as a printer jam and confusion involving electronic pollbooks. These types of disruptions, while categorized as minor by state officials, create immediate logistical challenges for precinct workers and voters alike.

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For those attempting to cast a ballot in the final hour, the timing of their arrival is critical for the type of ballot they receive:

Voters in line by 7:30 p.m.: Eligible to cast a regular ballot.
Voters arriving after 7:30 p.m.: Must cast a provisional ballot.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is scheduled to hold a news conference at 4:00 p.m. to provide updates on the status of these precincts and address any further problems reported by local election boards.

The immediate impact of these glitches is felt most acutely by voters in the affected precincts who must now manage their time around the extended window, and by the state’s data analysts who cannot begin the formal process of aggregating results until the final doors close in Columbus County.