This week, a federal court in Winston-Salem is hearing arguments for and against provisions in North Carolina’s voting law. Locally, those provisions have brought mixed responses from voters, according to Kellie Hopkins, director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections.

“We’re still getting our feet wet with this law,” Hopkins said. “We’re still trying to figure out what works best for the people of Beaufort County.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, North Carolina NAACP, League of Women Voters of North Carolina and others are challenging the state’s voting law by focusing on four provisions: early voting, the elimination of same-day registration, no provisional ballots for those voting in the wrong precinct, and the elimination of pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Reduction of early-voting days

While the number of hours at Boards of Elections stayed the same under the 2013 law, the number of days into which those hours fit shrank from 17 to 10. In order to fulfill the hours requirement in Beaufort County, the Board of Elections had to keep its satellite poll sites open more, as well as add a new one in Chocowinity.

“We did get a lot of positive feedback about the satellite site in Chocowinity,” Hopkins said.

The drawback was, in the past, Hopkins or one of the two other BOE staff members would be overseeing the process at any satellite site, in case something went wrong. Under the new provision, poll workers held that responsibility.

Hopkins said she had some complaints about the change in the total number of days available for early voting, but most of those complaints came form those who were going to be out of town.

Elimination of same-day registration

Previously, those who registered on the same day they voted were given a provisional ballot. BOE employees would then verify that person’s identity in the week and a half to two weeks between Election Day and canvassing. Hopkins said doing away with same-day registration did cut down on some paperwork for the staff, but there were voters in 2014 election that missed the registration deadline.

“Nobody felt like same-day registration was that big of a burden on the office. It really wasn’t that many folks,” Hopkins said.

No ballots for voters in the wrong precinct

This provision eliminated the ability to vote for those who mistakenly show up at the wrong precinct.

“We see that quite a lot in Washington,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins said it’s the transient population this affects — people who move from one address to another without realizing they are changing precincts.

“We can no longer handle them at a precinct other than a precinct they are supposed to be in,” Hopkins said.

Elimination of pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds

Previously 16- and 17-year-olds were allowed to register to vote. Hopkins said this provision caused no additional burden to BOE staff: the DMV-filed applications were simply entered into the system, automatically activating new voters on their 18^th birthdays.

“We didn’t have any problems with it,” Hopkins said. “It didn’t cause us any inconvenience.”

Hopkins said she did not know if the elimination of pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds would have a chilling effect on young voters.

According to the Associated Press, the trial in Winston-Salem is expected to last two or three weeks, and U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder is not expected to rule right away. Should Schroeder’s final ruling be appealed, the case may reach the Supreme Court.