Hattie Street , a 92-year-old registered Democrat, voted early this year. It was one of the last things she did. Street made her way to the Granville County polls on Tuesday, Oct. 22, four days before she died. Her funeral took place two days before Election Day. Street is one of thousands of voters whose eligibility is being challenged in an election protest, one of a series that Republican runner-ups have filed in close races this year.
Other challenged voters include suspected felons, overseas and military voters who have never lived in North Carolina or didn’t attach photo ID copies to their absentee ballots, people whose voter registration was denied in recent weeks after failed mail verification and, chief among all, voters whose registrations did not include a driver’s license or Social Security number.
Each protest will take time to resolve. At best, county boards of elections and the State Board of Elections will make their determinations in the 308 election protests by early December. But appealed decisions may take a lengthier journey through the North Carolina court system or the General Assembly.