Residents, election officials and a state senator press Harnett County boards on early voting in schools; board schedules public meetings

Public commenters, elected officials and board staff spent more than an hour Tuesday debating whether early voting should continue in Harnett County schools, with speakers warning that moving polling places could reduce turnout and asking local leaders to meet and negotiate a solution.

Several precinct chairs and longtime poll workers told the Harnett County Board of Elections the county should keep election-day and early-voting operations in schools because schools are public, familiar locations and convenient for older voters. State Sen. Michael Bergen, who said he visited long lines at Western Harnett, urged local officials to avoid sudden changes and noted research showing a decline in turnout when voting locations move.“When you move a voting place for the next election, there is about a 7% drop off in voting because people are convenient voters,” Senator Bergen said.

The board’s GIS analyst presented three draft precinct-map options that would reduce very large precincts and combine a handful of small ones; staff proposed scheduling three public meetings so residents can review the map changes and possible alternate early‑voting sites before the board considers a final plan.

Why it matters: Precinct boundaries and polling locations affect how easily voters can access the ballot.…