The Beaufort County Board of Elections is seeking input regarding locations and hours of operation for early voting sites for the upcoming Nov. 8 general election.

The board, during its June 14 meeting, will consider three options, and it wants the public to weigh in on those options. The options have been posted on the board’s website — http://www.beaufortncboe.com/node/201 — for review and comment. State law requires the board to provide early voting for at least 195 hours during the early voting period.

The suggested options follow:

• extended office hours at the Board of Elections office, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 through Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 through Nov. 5, and from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5. Three satellite offices (Aurora, Belhaven, and Chocowinity) would be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 2-4 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5, 198.5 hours;

• extended office hours at the Board of Elections office, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 27, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31 through Nov. 4, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5. Three satellite offices (Aurora, Belhaven, and Chocowinity) open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 1-4 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5, 210 hours;

• normal office hours at the Board of Elections office, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 27 through Nov. 4, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5. Three satellite offices (Aurora, Belhaven, and Chocowinity) open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 1-4 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5, 200 hours.

The sites would not be open Sundays.

“I haven’t heard that the board has a preference. I do know that in years past, they like to open early here and stay late for the working folks. They have put that into consideration,” said Kellie Harris Hopkins, Beaufort County’s elections director. “I’m pretty darn sure it will be all three satellites. In fact, the three (options) that I worked up have all three. We don’t have to do all three, but they want them there.”

The board also indicated it wants the satellite sites to be open on consecutive weekdays instead of skipping days, she said.

“I think they would like for us to be open that first Saturday (Oct. 29),” said Hopkins, noting such a schedule would provide voters two Saturdays to mark ballots during early voting.

“This is an expensive endeavor, especially when we open up satellite sites. We’ve got five or six people employed for that day at three different sites. So, satellite sites are expensive, but worth it, very worth it,” Hopkins said. “They’re taking into account how many hours would best suit the voters of Beaufort County.”

Public comment should be emailed to Beaufort.boe@co.beaufort.nc.us. They will be considered at the canvass meeting for the June 7 primary to be held at 11 a.m. June 14 at the board’s office, 1308 Highland Drive, Suite 104, Washington. Once received, emailed comments will be immediately forwarded to each board member and presented during the meeting, which is open to the public.

The board reserves the right to alter any of the options presented if comments present issues that warrant changes or plans other than those posted.