In some jurisdictions, curtailment of early voting is being used (sometimes in conjunction with voter ID requirements) in what many see as a transparent effort to skew the results of the November elections.

In that context, it is good to know that, when it comes to early voting, North Carolina in general and Moore County in particular are moving in the opposite direction, widening the available locations.

“We have more sites than last time,” says Moore County Elections Director Glenda Clendendin. “We will be open in Carthage beginning Oct. 18. And on Oct. 24, we will be open in West End, Aberdeen and Whispering Pines. Hours will vary, and they should check our website or give us a call.”

This matter came up the other day when the State Board of Elections stepped in to expand early voting in six counties, in which the local elections boards could not agree unanimously on the hours, location and number of additional “one-stop” sites. The boards in those six counties had deadlocked on the issue.

“My board was unanimous,” Clendenin notes with satisfaction.

Though the early voting in the 2008 election is generally thought to have favored the Democratic Party, the influence was said to have swung in the opposite direction in other years.

In any case, voting officials everywhere should not be trying to second-guess the effect and concentrating instead on making it easier instead of harder for voters to exercise their sacred constitutional right to choose their own leaders.