Don’t be fooled: NC primary election results will come in later this year but it’s OK.

A word of caution for this year’s primary election on Tuesday in North Carolina: It will take longer for all the results to come in.

This is not the fault of any county’s board of elections. It is a result of a bill passed last year that mandates county boards delay tabulating early votes, as explained well in this piece published at the Raleigh News & Observer website by Christopher Cooper, a Political Science professor at Western Carolina University, and J. Michael Bitzer, a professor of Politics and History at Catawba College.

More:Cumberland County voter guide to the 2024 primary elections

In past years, journalists and political watchers could know unofficial results not long after polls closed at 7:30 p.m. by checking the state Board of Elections website, as the professors write. That’s because county election workers could get a jump by tabulating early votes starting at 2 p.m. on Election Day. Bitzer and Cooper underscore that “tabulating does not mean reporting; no votes were reported before every voter had a chance to cast their ballot.”

A changed tucked into N.C. Senate Bill 747 delays the tabulation of in-person early votes until polls close. Mailed ballots can still be counted before then. 

Bad actors

I put this caution out there to help short-circuit social media trolls, political groups and others who may choose to make something sinister out of the delayed results. We are used to instant election results in NC, and some bad actors may take advantage by suggesting the lag is a sign of voter fraud.

Everyone needs to be careful with what you see and here out there, as we barrel toward the 2024 general election races for president, U.S. Congress and the North Carolina state legislature, plus a ton of other offices.

North Carolina is a critical swing state in the presidential race, where Joe Biden and Donald Trump lead their party’s nomination races. As I have said before, the Tar Heel State is where the Republican candidate for president cannot afford to lose.

Pair that with our key statewide and House races and we are a ripe target for misinformation and disinformation — the latter being cases where bad actors are deliberately trying to mislead you.

AI tricks enter the arena

This year is expected to be worse than most. This is thanks in part to a concerning newer player in the field — Artificial Intelligence.

Already in North Carolina, Mark Walker, a Republican candidate for the 6th Congressional District, said an ad used a “deepfake” of him to put words in his mouth that make him look poorly.

In the Democratic presidential primary, an ad firm affiliated with longshot candidate Dean Phillips employed an actor to make A.I. robocalls as a fake Joe Biden to try to influence the New Hampshire primary. The Phillips campaign consultant that made the ads copped to the deception.

If something sounds fishy to you, double-check it against a reasonable source. You can email and ask me. 

Bottom line: Your vote is too important to throw away based on dishonest information. 

Voter information for Tuesday

Polls are open Tuesday in North Carolina from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. If you are in line by 7:30, you can vote. I.D. is required but even without it, you can vote provisionally and bring in proof the next day or so afterward, as long as it is before the official canvass of votes. Check your county's Board of Elections site for more voting information.

Check the state Board of Elections site to find out your voting precinct and other information in their voter lookup, where you can also see a sample of your exact ballot and who’s on it. 

The Fayetteville Observer has published our voter guide and our radio partner, WIDU 99.7 FM, has video interviews of candidates at its Facebook page.

Happy voting.

Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver .com or 910-486-3559.