Early voting line at Fairfield Community Center. Photo: Kristy Bock/Neuse News

Early voting started today in Lenoir, Jones, and Greene counties. With pandemic precautions in place, the wait time to vote has varied by location. The wait time at the Kinston Community Center at 8:00 am, was about 25 minutes and Fairfield Rec Center had reports of approximately an hour wait from start to finish.

“Early voting has started and we're looking forward to having a good turnout. We're out at the polls now. Folks are really coming in. People are excited about voting. I'm excited to see that they're here and I'm asking everybody to vote for me,” said Annette Turik, District court judge.

After each person voted, the booth they voted at, and the pens they used to fill out their ballot were sanitized before the next person used them.

“It was much easier this time. The line was long, but it went fast. It was more organized,” said early voter Regina Branch who waited about 35 minutes to vote.

Reports from across the state indicate that long lines were something early voters should plan to expect, with waits of about 90 minutes in Durham.

“It was fine, we had to wait a total of about an hour to wait and vote,” said Carl Haynes. “I love early voting, I'm glad we have it. I wish every state had it.” 

More than 60% of the total ballots cast during the 2016 presidential election in North Carolina were cast by early voters, or nearly 3 million votes. That percentage is anticipated to be lower for the 2020 election as more than 50,000 absentee ballots have been cast.

The early-vote option, which continues until Oct. 31, allows registered voters to vote at any voting center in their county of residence.