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North Carolina Statutes § 163-166.40 Early voting procedures

⤴ Up to Part 5: Early Voting

Statute Text

(a) Any voter eligible to vote [by absentee ballot under G.S. 163-226 ] may [request an application for absentee ballots, complete the application, and] vote [under the provisions of G.S. 163-227.5 and G.S. 163-227.6 .] a ballot under this Part.
(b) Not earlier than the third Thursday before an [election, in which absentee ballots are authorized,] election in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election, the voter [shall] may appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections, except as provided in [ G.S. 163-227.6 .] G.S. 163-166.35 . A county board of elections shall conduct [one-stop] early voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M.
(b1) [That] The voter shall enter the voting enclosure at the board office through the appropriate entrance and shall at once [state] do all of the following:
(1) State his or her [name] name to an authorized member or employee of the board or election official.
(2) [and] State the voter's place of residence to an authorized member or employee of the [board] board or election official.
(3) [and present] Present photo identification in accordance with G.S. 163-166.16 .
(4) [In a primary election, the voter shall also state] State the political party with which the voter affiliates and in whose primary the voter desires to [vote, or if] vote. If the voter is an unaffiliated voter [permitted to vote] voting in the primary of a particular party under G.S. 163-119 , the voter shall state the name of the [authorizing] political party in whose primary [he] the voter wishes to vote.
(b2) The board member or employee or election official to whom the voter gives this information shall announce the name and residence of the voter in a distinct tone of voice. After examining the registration records, [an employee of the board] he or she shall state whether the person seeking to vote is duly registered. If the voter is found to be registered that voter may [request that the authorized member or employee of the board furnish the voter with an application for absentee ballots. The voter shall complete the application in the presence of the authorized member or employee of the board, and shall deliver the application to that person.] vote a ballot under this Part.
(c) [If the application is properly filled out, the authorized member or employee shall enter the voter's name in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued and shall furnish the voter with the ballots to which the application for absentee ballots applies. The voter thereupon shall vote in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.]
All actions required by this [subsection] section shall be performed in the office of the board of elections, except that the voting may take place in an adjacent room as provided by subsection (e) of this section. [The application under this subsection shall be signed in the presence of the chair, member, director of elections of the board, or full-time employee, authorized by the board who shall sign the application and certificate as the witness and indicate the official title held by him or her. Notwithstanding G.S. 163-231 (a) , in the case of this subsection, only one witness shall be required on the certificate.]
[(d)] [Only the chairman, member, employee, or director of elections of the board shall keep the voter's application for absentee ballots in a safe place, separate and apart from other applications and container-return envelopes. If the voter's application for absentee ballots is disapproved by the board, the board shall so notify the voter stating the reason for disapproval by first-class mail addressed to the voter at that voter's residence address and at the address shown in the application for absentee ballots; and the board shall enter a challenge under G.S. 163-89 .]
(e) The voter shall vote that voter's [absentee] ballot during early voting in a voting booth in the office of the county board of elections, and the county board of elections shall provide a voting booth for that purpose, provided however, that the county board of elections may in the alternative provide a private room for the voter adjacent to the office of the board, in which case the voter shall vote that voter's [absentee] ballot in that room. A voter at [a one-stop] an early voting site shall be entitled to the same assistance as a voter at a voting place on election day under G.S. 163-166.8 . The State Board shall, where appropriate, adapt the rules it adopts under G.S. 163-166.8 . to [one-stop] early voting.
(f) At any site where [one-stop absentee] early voting is conducted, there shall be a curtained or otherwise private area where the voter may mark the ballot unobserved.
(g) A voter who has moved within the county more than 30 days before election day but has not reported the move to the board of elections shall not be required on that account to vote a provisional ballot at the [one-stop] early voting site, as long as the [one-stop] early voting site has available all the information necessary to determine whether a voter is registered to vote in the county and which ballot the voter is eligible to vote based on the voter's proper residence address. The voter with that kind of unreported move shall be allowed to vote the same kind of [absentee] ballot as other [one-stop voters.] voters voting a ballot during early voting.
(h) Notwithstanding the exception specified in G.S. 163-36 , counties which operate a modified full-time office shall remain open five days each week during regular business hours consistent with daily hours presently observed by the county board of elections, commencing with the date prescribed in [ G.S. 163-227.2 (b) ] subsection (b) of this section and continuing until 5:00 P.M. on the Friday prior to that election and shall also be open on the last Saturday before the election. A county board may conduct [one-stop absentee] early voting during evenings or on weekends, as long as the hours are part of a plan submitted and approved according to subsection (g) of this [section] section. The boards of county commissioners shall provide necessary funds for the additional operation of the office during that time.
[(i)] [Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 163-89 (a) and (b) , a challenge may be entered against a voter at a one-stop site under subsection (g) of this section or during one-stop voting at the county board office. The challenge may be entered by a person conducting one-stop voting under G.S. 163-227.5 and G.S. 163-227.6 or by another registered voter who resides in the same precinct as the voter being challenged. If challenged at the place where one-stop voting occurs, the voter shall be allowed to cast a ballot in the same way as other voters. The challenge shall be made on forms prescribed by the State Board. The challenge shall be heard by the county board of elections in accordance with the procedures set forth in G.S. 163-89 (e) .]

History

Amended by 2023 N.C. Sess. Laws 140 , s. 27-c , eff. 1/1/2024 .

Renumbered from § 163-227.2 by 2023 N.C. Sess. Laws 140 , s. 1-a , eff. 1/1/2024 .