Harnett County commissioners table resolution seeking to remove schools as voting sites after wide public comment

Harnett County commissioners on Feb. 3 postponed action on a joint resolution requesting state legislative action to remove school buildings as voting places after lengthy public comment and a period of discussion. The board instead voted to table the matter until next week.

The resolution, introduced by a commissioner during the meeting, would ask the General Assembly to adopt a local statutory change to bar the use of county school facilities as voting sites. The motion to approve the resolution was made on the floor and seconded; after extensive public comment and debate, another motion to table the resolution prevailed and the item was set to be revisited next week.

Why it matters: The proposal touches on election access, school security and statutory responsibility. Residents and election officials described tradeoffs between maintaining easy access to polling places and limiting school disruption during early voting. Board of Elections members said schools provide accessible space, parking and curbside voting accommodations that other venues often lack.

Claire Jones, a member of the Harnett County Board of Elections, told commissioners that removing schools as an option "would be detrimental to voter access and election logistics." Jones proposed a compromise of removing schools from early-voting schedules while preserving them as Election Day polling places, when schools are closed for instruction.

Betsy McCormick, also a member of the Board of Elections, said the state statutes provide a process that allows a local board of education to object to the use of a particular school for early voting and suggested using existing law rather than seeking a new local act.

Bill McNutt, who identified himself as a member of the Board of Elections and a Harnett County resident, argued the county should not pursue a local act and cited provisions of the North Carolina Constitution and existing statutes (as discussed during his remarks) to say the proposed local change could face legal obstacles; he asked the commission to withdraw the resolution and to use the current law's good-faith negotiation requirement instead.

Several residents and speakers urged the board to keep schools as voting locations. Richard Chapman said the resolution contained "no supporting material" such as incident reports, testimony from school staff or cost comparison of alternatives and urged commissioners to reject the measure unless they develop evidence and alternatives.

Other residents pressed the commissioners to avoid disrupting access for voters who rely on school facilities, citing parking, indoor space and ADA access. Several speakers pointed to long lines at Western Harnett High School in a recent election and said any changes should be based on data about voter volumes and distribution of voters across precincts.

Commission discussion focused on two recurring points: (1) a shared interest in protecting student safety during school hours, and (2) the difficulty of finding alternative sites that match school capacities and accessibility. One commissioner said they were not opposed to using schools on Election Day when students are not present, but expressed concern about early-voting days when schools are in session.

Claire Jones and Board of Elections members told the commission they are exploring alternative early-voting locations (for example, Ben Haven Community Center and certain fire stations) and plan to present maps and plans at the board of elections meeting scheduled for tomorrow evening. The board of elections said it will consider splitting large precincts and adding sites in Western Harnett to reduce long waits at high-volume locations.

Votes at a glance - Joint resolution requesting state law change to remove school buildings as voting sites — motion to approve introduced; subsequent motion to table passed and the item was set for consideration next week (tabled). (Motion to table was seconded; outcome: tabled.) - Appointments to boards and committees — multiple appointments and reappointments were approved by voice vote (see meeting minutes for the list of names and positions). (Carried unanimously on each presented appointment.) - Budget amendments — approved by voice vote (carried unanimously). - Motion to go into closed session to consult with county counsel regarding pending litigation — approved; board went into closed session.

What’s next: The county’s Board of Elections will meet tomorrow evening to review proposed precinct maps and alternative early-voting sites; commissioners agreed to revisit the resolution next week after further discussion and coordination with the Board of Elections and the school board.

Sources and provenance: The article is based on public comment and the commissioners’ discussion recorded during the Feb. 3 Harnett County Board of Commissioners meeting. Topic-related portions of the transcript include the initial motion to approve the resolution and the later motion to table the item (public comments and board discussion appear between those timestamps).