Staff member Bill Helms of the Cumberland County Board of Elections feeds a test ballot into a voting machine on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. This was for a demonstration of how voting machines are tested.
Staff member Bill Helms of the Cumberland County Board of Elections feeds a test ballot into a voting machine on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. This was for a demonstration of how voting machines are tested. Credit: Paul Woolverton / CityView

As the final sprint in North Carolina’s 2024 elections gets underway, early voting starts Thursday morning across the state and at eight locations across Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Two signals of southeastern North Carolina’s importance in the presidential race and the political parties’ get out the vote efforts:

Voting machines in storage at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.
Voting machines in storage at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. Credit: Paul Woolverton / CityView

Voting machines tested and ready to go

In preparation for the election, the Cumberland County Board of Elections staff in September tested its 90 voting machines for reliability and accuracy by running test ballots through them, elections staffer Bill Helms said on Monday. He demonstrated the process with several machines for a group of six observers plus three members of the county Board of Elections.

Cumberland County has 81 ballot designs that vary depending on the election districts that serve each of the county’s 222,131 voters. For example, Cumberland County has two Congressional districts, two state Senate districts and four state House districts.

All the machines were accurate when tested, Helms said.

Eight will go into service Thursday morning at the county’s eight early voting sites as early voting commences. The rest are for the 77 Election Day precincts.

Staff member Bill Helms of the Cumberland County Board of Elections shows the public a USB thumb drive that is used to control a voting machine and tabulate the ballots it processes. This is a special, secure thumb drive for use on election machines, he said. Helms was demonstrating to the public the process of testing voting machines for accuracy on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections.
Staff member Bill Helms of the Cumberland County Board of Elections shows the public a USB thumb drive that is used to control a voting machine and tabulate the ballots it processes. This is a special, secure thumb drive for use on election machines, he said. Helms was demonstrating to the public the process of testing voting machines for accuracy on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Credit: Paul Woolverton / CityView

Each machine has a special, secure USB thumb drive that controls the machine and stores its election data, Helms said. If a machine breaks down, he said, the thumb drive can be taken from the broken machine and placed on a new one to continue balloting.

Meanwhile, the ballots themselves are stored in a bin at the bottom of the machine after each person votes, Helms showed the observers on Monday.

Early voting

Early voting will take place at eight sites in Cumberland County, from Thursday through Nov. 2. People who aren’t registered to vote in Cumberland County, or who need to update their voter registration, may do so at the voting sites. Voter registration is not done on the Nov. 5 Election Day. Below are the hours and locations of early voting.

Early Voting Dates and Hours

Oct. 17 – 18Thursday & Friday8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19Saturday8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Oct. 20Sunday2 – 5 p.m.
Oct. 21 – 25Monday – Friday8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26Saturday8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Oct. 28 – Nov. 1Monday – Friday8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2Saturday8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Early Voting Locations

East Regional Library4809 Clinton Road, Fayetteville
Cliffdale Recreation Center6404 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville
College Lakes Recreation Center4945 Rosehill Road, Fayetteville
J.D. Pone Recreation Center2964 School Road, Hope Mills
Kiwanis Recreation Center352 Devers St., Fayetteville
Smith Recreation Center1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville
Spring Lake Recreation Center245 Ruth St., Spring Lake
Stoney Point Recreation Center7411 Rockfish Road, Fayetteville
Cumberland County Board of Elections member Linda Devore reads the results of a voting machine test to Board Member Derek Edmonds, as they verify whether the machine accurately counted up the results from 18 test ballots. This was during a demonstration of how voting machines are tested, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections.
Cumberland County Board of Elections member Linda Devore reads the results of a voting machine test to Board Member Derek Edmonds, as they verify whether the machine accurately counted up the results from 18 test ballots. This was during a demonstration of how voting machines are tested, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the offices of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Credit: Paul Woolverton / CityView

Big name visitors

Clinton and Trump Jr. are campaigning in the Fayetteville area for Harris and Trump Sr. this weekend.

Clinton has a get out the vote bus tour focused in eastern North Carolina, with two appearances in Fayetteville.

First, he is scheduled to headline a Veterans and Military Families Canvass Launch from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the headquarters of the Cumberland County Democratic Party, 5330 Raeford Road. Click here to sign up to attend.

Then on Saturday, Clinton is to visit Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave. near Fayetteville State University, for an Early Vote Block Party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Smith Recreation Center is an early voting site. Click here to register.

Trump Jr.’s appearance with Mullin and Gabbard is set for 6 p.m.set 6 p.m. Friday at the Locklear Farm, 6772 Preston Road, west of Red Springs. Doors open at 5 p.m. Click here for general admission tickets.

Allison Underwood contributed reporting.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.