RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrats on North Carolina's elections board voted Tuesday to give voters in a number of counties more opportunities to participate in the November general election with hard-fought campaigns for president and governor in the balance.

The five-member State Board of Elections voted largely along party lines to add more locations or hours to the early voting period in Wake, Forsyth, Anson, Craven, Hoke and Pamlico counties. In all but one case, the two Republican members of the state panel opposed such moves.

Joshua Howard, a Republican member of the Wake County Board of Elections, said the number of early voting locations was limited by the county budget. "We do not have any more machines to put at a 16th site," he said.

Larry Leake, chairman of the state board, said the county's plan failed to take into account Wake County's population growth.

"Given the dynamics and the growth of the Wake County population over the last four years, that plan was insufficient," he said.

In 2008, the county offered a total of 1,456 hours of early voting. Tuesday's changes pushes early voting hours above 1,600, an 11 percent increase.

Howard said, "I fear that the state board, in demanding more hours and more sites, at best will strip away the staff we need at existing sites." He called the board's move an unfunded mandate on Wake County. 

But that argument did not appear to sit well with state board members.

"It appears to me that your plan puts an undue burden on my right to vote," said Ronald Penny, a Democratic member of the state board.

In Wake County, the state board ordered the following changes:

• A new early voting polling place will be added at the former site of Elevation Baptist Church on Highway 64.
• All Raleigh and Cary early voting locations will be open on Oct. 18 and 19. Under the original plan, only the downtown county board of election office would have been open on those days.
• On Saturday Nov. 3, all early voting locations will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wake County commissioners have said they are disinclined to invest more in early voting. The Wake Board of Elections meets Wednesday to try and figure out how to comply.

The state board also adjusted early voting times in Anson, Craven, Hoke and Forsyth counties and rejected a request to roll back Sunday voting hours in Pamlico County.

Early voting in Wake County varies by date and location as follows:

Oct. 18 - 19, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh

Oct. 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh

Oct. 21, 1 to 5 p.m.
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh

Oct. 22 - 23, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh

Oct. 22 - 26, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh

Oct. 24 - 26, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Apex Community Center, Apex
Avery Street Recreation Center, Garner
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
Falcon Park Hut, Fuquay- Varina
Herbert C Young Community Center, Cary
Knightdale Recreation Center, Knightdale
Lake Lynn Community Center, Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Northern Regional Center, Wake Forest
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College North Campus, Raleigh
WE Hunt Recreation Center, Holly Springs

Oct. 27, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Apex Community Center, Apex
Avery Street Recreation Center, Garner
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
Falcon Park Hut, Fuquay- Varina
Herbert C Young Community Center, Cary
Knightdale Recreation Center, Knightdale
Lake Lynn Community Center. Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Northern Regional Center, Wake Forest
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College North Campus, Raleigh
WE Hunt Recreation Center, Holly Springs

Oct. 28, 1 to 5 p.m.
Apex Community Center, Apex
Avery Street Recreation Center, Garner
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
Falcon Park Hut, Fuquay- Varina
Herbert C Young Community Center, Cary
Knightdale Recreation Center, Knightdale
Lake Lynn Community Center. Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Northern Regional Center, Wake Forest
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College North Campus, Raleigh
WE Hunt Recreation Center, Holly Springs

Oct. 29 - November 2, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Apex Community Center, Apex
Avery Street Recreation Center, Garner
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
Falcon Park Hut, Fuquay- Varina
Herbert C Young Community Center, Cary
Knightdale Recreation Center, Knightdale
Lake Lynn Community Center. Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Northern Regional Center, Wake Forest
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College North Campus, Raleigh
WE Hunt Recreation Center, Holly Springs

Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh

Nov. 3, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Apex Community Center, Apex
Avery Street Recreation Center, Garner
Board of Elections Office, Raleigh
Cary Senior Center, Cary
Chavis Community Center, Raleigh
Falcon Park Hut, Fuquay- Varina
Herbert C Young Community Center, Cary
Knightdale Recreation Center, Knightdale
Lake Lynn Community Center. Raleigh
NCSU Talley Student Center, Raleigh
Northern Regional Center, Wake Forest
Optimist Community Center, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, Raleigh
Wake Technical Community College North Campus, Raleigh
WE Hunt Recreation Center, Holly Springs