WHITEVILLE, N.C. (June 5, 2026) — Columbus County voters could lose access to all but one of their early voting locations if a recent proposal from the local county board of elections is approved.
In a May 11, 2026, Columbus County Board of Elections meeting, Chair Jillian McPherson-Edge introduced a proposal to dramatically reduce the county’s early voting sites from five to one. The next board meeting will be at 5 p.m. Monday, June 8. The county expects to adopt its early voting plan at its June 29 meeting.
The change would leave the county board of elections office in Whiteville as the only early voting site in Columbus County — a dramatic reversal from the longstanding practice of providing early voting opportunities in all corners of the county. Every election since at least 2008 in Columbus County has included four or more early voting sites.
Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) sent a letter today to the Columbus County Board of Elections detailing the impact on voters. Read it here.
The stakes are significant. In 2022, over 50% of ballots in Columbus County were cast during early voting. In 2024, that number climbed to over 70%, and most of those votes were cast at locations other than the Whiteville Board of Elections site.
The geography makes this especially concerning for voters in Columbus County (one of the largest counties in the state), which spans approximately 955 square miles. For some voters, the proposed change would add over an hour of round-trip travel time to reach the single remaining site. Longer lines and voting wait times would also dramatically increase for everyone during the early voting period.
This proposal may forecast a statewide pattern. Board of Elections members across North Carolina have reported pressure to cut early voting sites and remove campus polling places, and the State Board of Elections has greenlit reductions to early voting access, including in the 2026 primary elections. Columbus County’s proposal is among the most dramatic cuts seen anywhere in the state. In a county with its own fraught history, including a 2022 incident that prompted the NAACP North Carolina State Conference to request federal election monitors, it raises serious concerns.
“Columbus County voters have fought too hard and too long for access to the ballot to see it stripped away like this,” said Curtis Hill, president of the Columbus County chapter of the NAACP.
The County Board of Commissioners approved a budget this year that provides consistent funding to account for the usual number of early voting sites for the General Election. Community members and advocates are asking the Board of Elections to halt this proposal to ensure all Columbus County residents have access to the ballot.
Community members and a voting rights attorney will be available for interviews at the Monday hearing.
WHAT: Columbus County Board of Elections Meeting
WHEN: 5:00 p.m. Monday, June 8, 2026
WHERE: Columbus County Board of Election, 2586 James B. White Hwy N. Bldg B, Whiteville, NC 28472
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice came together in 2007 to give Black, Brown, and low-income people better resources in the fight for justice across the South. We are lawyers, social scientists, and communications professionals working to dismantle racism and oppression in the criminal legal system, in our environment, and at the ballot box. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.