Get your ballots ready: Voting in White House race underway

In this Aug. 9, 2016 file photo, Chairwoman Kathryn Lindley, right, is approached by people during the Guilford County Board of Elections meeting at the Old Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. The swing state of North Carolina could be pushed in a Republican or Democratic direction when the GOP-led State Board of Elections meets Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 to finalize early voting plans for a third of the statea sA A s counties.

GOP-led NC panel finds early-voting compromise amid protests

A Republican-led panel considered but ultimately shelved an early-voting plan Monday that could have made casting ballots more difficult for college students and black residents in North Carolina's third most populous county, despite federal court orders to undo what's been ruled a discriminatory ballot access law. A raucous crowd of 300 people packed the Guilford County Board of Elections meeting, determined to be heard in opposition to the Republican chairwoman's proposal, which would have cut a dozen early voting sites while complying with the letter of the appellate ruling.