Not only is the 90 percent humidity blanketing the Triangle this Election Day disgusting, it’s also causing some problems at the polls. 

The North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement said this morning that high humidity was preventing some ballots from being fed through vote-counting machines.

The state board said the issue was impacting Wake County “and other areas.” Ballots that can’t be read by the machines will be placed in a secure bin and “tabulated as soon as possible,” a press release said.

“The State Board wants to ensure voters that procedures are in place for these types of events. All ballots will be counted.”

According to the press release, the agency routinely conducts post-election audits to ensure that the number of people who voted matches the number of ballots counted at each polling location.

State elections board spokesperson Patrick Gannon said the impacted precincts are mostly in Wake County, although there have been “scattered reports of similar issues in a few other counties.” About ten Wake County precincts reported problems with humidity, he said, and election officials are working to control the climate inside polling places. 

The agency is advising county elections officials to keep voting areas as cool and dry as possible. 

Polls are open until seven-thirty p.m. If you’re in line to vote at that time, you can still vote, so stay in line. If you haven’t voted yet, WRAL advises going to the polls early to avoid a band of severe storms headed toward Central North Carolina.