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Republican officials overseeing North Carolina elections are facing accusations of attempting to make voting more difficult for students and Black residents after proposing changes to early voting locations and hours in several counties, reigniting a partisan battle over election access ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The controversy follows efforts by Republican-controlled county election boards to relocate early voting sites away from college campuses and reduce Sunday voting in some communities — changes that critics argue disproportionately affect Democratic-leaning constituencies.
The disputes stem from a broader shift in election oversight after the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature transferred authority over state and county election boards from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek. Since taking office, Boliek appointed Republican majorities to the State Board of Elections and county election boards across the state.
Democrats and voting rights organizations contend the changes reflect a coordinated effort to reshape early voting access. They point to communications from Dallas Woodhouse, the former executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, whom Boliek hired as an election liaison.
According to emails and text messages obtained by local news organizations, Woodhouse encouraged county election officials to eliminate Sunday voting in some jurisdictions and advised Republican election board members during disputes over early voting plans.
In one text message reported by The Daily Advance, Woodhouse urged a county election chairman to “Drop Sunday.” In another exchange obtained by NC Local, he instructed a county board chairman, “Don’t let them have a vote,” while discussing an upcoming decision on early voting sites.
The proposed changes have generated bipartisan concern.
Gov. Stein accused the auditor’s office of improperly influencing local election administration, saying the actions demonstrate “the politicization of election administration in North Carolina.”
“It’s clear that the auditor’s staff person, who was the former executive director of the Republican Party, has been interfering with and directing local county boards of elections on how to shape their early voting plans,” Stein said.
Republican officials reject those accusations.
Boliek said Democrats are objecting because Republicans now control election boards following changes approved by the legislature. He denied directing counties to remove voting sites from college campuses or reduce voting opportunities.
Instead, Boliek said his office has encouraged election boards to consider geographic access, parking availability and accessibility when selecting early voting locations.
State data released by the auditor’s office shows total early voting hours increased during North Carolina’s March primary, rising from roughly 45,500 hours to more than 48,000 statewide. The number of early voting locations also increased by about 6%, according to the office.
Still, several proposed changes remain contentious.
In Wake County, election officials voted unanimously to relocate an early voting site from North Carolina State University’s student center to another university facility about a mile away. Republican officials described the new location as more accessible for the broader public while remaining connected to campus transit.
In Jackson County, however, Republican election board member Jay Pavey said he was told state officials opposed maintaining voting locations on university campuses. Boliek denied any such directive.
Other disputed proposals include moving voting locations away from predominantly Black or Democratic-leaning communities and eliminating Sunday voting, which has historically been popular among Black churches participating in “Souls to the Polls” initiatives.
Because several county election boards failed to reach unanimous agreements on their early voting plans, more than a dozen disputes will now be decided by the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections later this month.
The debate comes as election access remains a central issue in North Carolina, one of the nation’s most competitive battleground states, where control of voting procedures has become an increasingly partisan fight in recent election cycles.
