Rutherford County and other counties don’t offer Sunday early voting. Here’s why the issue became a major fight at the State Board of Elections.
By Annie Dance | Cops & Congress | News & Commentary
Sunday voting has become one of the biggest points of disagreement in North Carolina’s 2026 election planning — even though Sunday early voting is not required by state law.
That distinction is important.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) says counties must meet minimum requirements for early voting, but county boards can choose to provide additional days, longer hours, and additional weekend opportunities. Sunday voting is one of those optional additions.
That’s why Rutherford County voters may not see anything unusual about a schedule without Sunday voting.
Rutherford County doesn’t offer Sunday early voting, and neither do some other North Carolina counties.
But in several of the 20 counties whose plans went before the State Board on Aug. 20, Sunday voting became a major political and policy dispute.
Why did 20 counties go to the State Board?
The State Board did not review the early voting plans for all 100 counties. The reason is straightforward.
The State Board’s Aug. 20 agenda specifically dealt with early voting plans that were not unanimously adopted by county boards of elections. The 20 counties were divided into two groups: counties with disagreements over dates or times and counties with disagreements involving locations, or both locations and dates or times.
The other 80 counties reached unanimous decisions locally, so they did not need the State Board to settle a disagreement.
The 20 counties, listed in alphabetical order, are Anson, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Harnett, Jackson, Lee, Lenoir, Nash, Pasquotank, Pitt, Rockingham, Rowan, Scotland, Union and Wayne.
The State Board’s notice said the plans were not unanimously adopted by their county boards.
So why does Sunday matter?
Supporters of Sunday voting argue that an additional weekend day gives voters another opportunity to cast a ballot, particularly people who work during the week or have transportation, family or other scheduling difficulties.
Critics of reducing Sunday hours argue that fewer voting opportunities can make it harder for some people to participate.
But there is another side that sometimes gets lost in the political debate: Opening on Sunday costs money and requires people to work. Others who spoke at the hearing in opposition to Sunday voting said they believe it should be a day of rest and reflection, with many attending church services.
County election officials have to recruit poll workers, secure facilities, provide equipment, and staff the sites.
North Carolina law gives counties the ability to provide more early voting opportunities than the minimum required by law. The State Board specifically says counties can add sites, extend hours or open on additional weekend days.
That means a county’s decision not to offer Sunday voting is not, by itself, evidence that the county is breaking any election law.
The State Board members making the decisions
The current five-member North Carolina State Board of Elections includes:
Francis De Luca — Republican, chairman
Stacy “Four” Eggers IV — Republican, secretary
Angela Hawkins — Republican, member
Jeff Carmon — Democrat, member
Siobhan O’Duffy Millen — Democrat, member
The State Board’s official website lists the three Republicans and two Democrats serving on the board. That gives Republicans a 3-2 majority.
Chairman De Luca was first appointed in May 2025 and elected chairman that year. Eggers has served on the board since 2018. Hawkins was appointed in March 2026. Carmon has served since 2019, and Millen has served since May 2023.
Jackson County gets a different outcome
Jackson County was one of the most closely watched disputes.
The State Board ultimately approved a compromise putting one early voting location at the Health and Human Sciences Building at Western Carolina University and another at the Cullowhee Recreation Center.
That dispute had been brewing for months over whether students should have an early voting location on the Western Carolina University campus.
The State Board’s decision effectively put both locations into the plan rather than choosing one side of the local dispute.
Columbus County’s Fair Bluff site
Columbus County also received significant attention.
Residents objected to a proposal that would have removed the early voting location in Fair Bluff, arguing that the change could make voting more difficult for people who lack transportation.
The State Board ultimately restored the Fair Bluff site.
Again, this illustrates why these disputes matter locally.
The question isn’t whether North Carolina has early voting. It does.
The question is where, when, and for how many hours counties will make it available.
Rutherford County puts the issue in perspective
For Rutherford County voters, the Sunday controversy is worth putting into perspective. A county can offer early voting without offering Sunday hours.
The State Board’s minimum requirements allow a county to operate an early voting site during regular weekday business hours and on the final Saturday of the early voting period. Counties can provide more opportunities if they choose.
So when voters hear arguments that eliminating Sunday voting automatically means people are being denied their right to vote, there’s an important distinction: Sunday voting is an additional convenience, not a separate legal requirement.
The debate is really over whether counties should provide that additional convenience and whether the benefits justify the additional cost and administrative burden.
The bigger issue: local control
That may be the most important takeaway from the State Board’s 10-plus-hour meeting.
North Carolina has 100 county boards of elections.
Those local boards are responsible for operating elections in their counties. When they agree unanimously on an early voting plan, the plan does not become a State Board political fight over competing proposals.
But when local board members cannot reach unanimity, the State Board becomes involved.
That’s what happened in these 20 counties. The other 80 counties handled their plans locally because their boards reached unanimous agreements.
For voters, the bottom line is simple: Don’t assume Rutherford County’s schedule is the same as Jackson County’s, Columbus County’s, or any others. Every county has its own decision-makers on the local board.
Early voting for the 2026 general election begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3., according to NCSBE.
The State Board says voters should check their county’s approved early voting locations and hours before heading to the polls. Sample ballots will be available soon on the voter look-up tool. For more details, visit the upcoming election website.
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