In-person voter turnout in Hoke County has been slow so far on Election Day, according to Hoke Elections Director Towanna Jackson.

As of about 3:30 p.m., even the large polling sites haven’t seen very many voters, the director said.

“It’s been slow,” she said. That also seems to be the case in some other counties, such as Cumberland, Jackson added.

It’s possible that the high numbers of early voters, and the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting the turnout on Election Day. More than 14,500 people in Hoke County turned out to cast a ballot during the one-stop early voting period.

The poll workers have been seeing a large number of people showing up hoping to register to vote today, Jackson reported. However, although North Carolina has same-day voter registration during early voting, it does not allow same-day voter registration on Election Day.

Residents can request a provisional ballot, but the Board of Elections must go through each of those provisional ballots and determine whether the voter was properly registered, or whether any other issues exist before the ballot is counted.

The Board of Elections has had to restock the provisional ballot envelopes because of the demand for them today, Jackson said.

Besides provisional ballots from Election Day, the Board of Elections must also review mailed-in ballots. The board will begin reviewing the mailed ballots Friday. The final, total numbers won’t be known until November 12. Election results are considered unofficial until the canvass, set for Friday, November 13.