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Beaufort elections board asks staff to study adding a fifth early voting center
Summary
Board members asked staff and committees to evaluate resources, likely locations and throughput improvements to determine whether Beaufort County should add a fifth early voting center for future general elections, noting early voting reached about 60% of ballots in 2024.
Board members discussed whether Beaufort County should add a fifth early voting center to accommodate voter demand in future general elections and asked staff to prepare an analysis.
Staff reminded the board that Act 150 (2022) codified no‑excuse early voting; historically early voting represented about 30–35% of ballots cast, but in the 2024 general election early voting accounted for roughly 60% of ballots. Staff recommended the board consider three tasks: (1) what resources would be required to add a fifth center; (2) ways to improve throughput at existing centers (including ballot‑marking device density); and (3) likely geographic locations and suitable facilities.
Given limited meeting time, the board assigned the reprecincting committee to evaluate geographic placement and staff to prepare ballpark resource estimates and throughput data for the board to review. Members emphasized first assessing current center efficiency to establish a baseline for any expansion.
Any decision to open an additional early voting center would be targeted for the FY26 general election cycle, not the current calendar year.
