North Carolina § 163-165 - Definitions.

§ 163-165. Definitions.

In addition to the definitions stated below, the definitions set forth in Article 15A of this Chapter also apply to this Part. As used in this Part: "Ballot" means an instrument on which a voter indicates that voter's choice for a ballot item so that it may be recorded as a vote for or against a certain candidate or referendum proposal, and is evidenced by an individual paper document that bears marks made by the voter by hand or through electronic means, whether preprinted or printed in the voting enclosure. "Ballot item" means a single item on a ballot in which the voters are to choose between or among the candidates or proposals listed. "Ballot style" means the version of a ballot within a jurisdiction that an individual voter is eligible to vote. For example, in a county that uses essentially the same official ballot, a group office such as county commissioner may be divided into districts so that different voters in the same county vote for commissioner in different districts. The different versions of the county's official ballot containing only those district ballot items one individual voter may vote are the county's different ballot styles. "Election" means the event in which voters cast votes in ballot items concerning proposals or candidates for office in this State or the United States. The term includes primaries, general elections, referenda, and special elections. "Official ballot" means a ballot that has been certified by the State Board of Elections and produced by or with the approval of the county board of elections. The term does not include a sample ballot or a specimen ballot. "Provisional official ballot" means an official ballot that is voted and then placed in an envelope that contains an affidavit signed by the voter certifying identity and eligibility to vote. Except for its envelope, a provisional official ballot shall not be marked to make it identifiable to the voter. "Referendum" means the event in which voters cast votes for or against ballot questions other than the election of candidates to office. "Voting booth" means the private space in which a voter is to mark an official ballot. "Voting enclosure" means the room within the voting place that is used for voting. "Voting place" means the building or area of the building that contains the voting enclosure. "Voting system" means a system of casting and tabulating ballots. The term includes systems of paper ballots counted by hand as well as systems utilizing mechanical and electronic voting equipment. History (2001-460, s. 3; 2001-466, s. 3(a), (b); 2002-159, s. 21(h); 2006-262, s. 4; 2013-381, ss. 30.1, 30.2; 2015-103, ss. 4(a), 5(a), 6(b); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-13, s. 3.11(b); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).) Editor's Note. - This section was recodified as now former G.S. 163A-1095 by Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Former G.S. 163A-1095 was then re-recodified as this section by Session Laws 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), effective January 31, 2019. The historical citation from the former section has been added to this section as re-recodified. Session Laws 2001-460, s. 3 enacted this Article as Article 13A. At the direction of the Revisor of Statutes, Article 13A followed repealed Article 14 in order to maintain numerical order in the section numbers. Subsequently, Session Laws 2002-159, s. 21(h), effective October 11, 2002, recodified Article 13A as Article 14A. G.S. 163-165 had been reserved for future codification purposes under former Article 14, which was repealed by Session Laws 2001-460, s. 1, effective January 1, 2002. Session Laws 2006-262, s. 5, provides: "Section 4 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2007. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law, except that any criminal penalty resulting from this act becomes effective October 1, 2006. Prosecutions for offenses committed before October 1, 2006, are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions." Session Laws 2013-381, s. 30.2, added a subdivision (5a), defining "Paper ballot," which was repealed by Session Laws 2015-103, s. 5(a), before it became effective. See note below for effective dates. Session Laws 2013-381, s. 30.8, as amended by Session Laws 2015-103, s. 6(a), Session Laws 2018-13, s. 3.11(a), and Session Laws 2019-177, s. 10.1(a), provides: "Any direct record electronic (DRE) voting systems currently certified by the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement which do not use paper ballots shall be decertified and shall not be used in any election held on or after December 1, 2019. Decertification of a DRE voting system that does not use paper ballots may not be appealed to the Superior Court of Wake County pursuant to G.S. 163A-1115(d)." Session Laws 2013-381, s. 30.9, as amended by Session Laws 2015-103, s. 6(b), Session Laws 2018-13, s. 3.11(b), and Session Laws 2019-177, s. 10.1(b), provides: "This Part becomes effective December 1, 2019, for counties that use direct record electronic voting machines." Session Laws 2013-381, s. 60.1, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2015-103, s. 5(c), provides: "This section becomes effective January 1, 2018. Counties authorized to use direct record electronic voting systems pursuant to S.L. 2013-381, as amended by Section 6 of this act, may continue to use direct record electronic voting systems in accordance with that act." Session Laws 2018-146, s. 3.1(b), effective January 31, 2019, repealed Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3, which had recodified this section. Session Laws 2019-239, s. 3(a), provides: "Notwithstanding Section 3.11 of S.L. 2018-13, the State Board of Elections (State Board) may authorize, upon such terms and conditions as the State Board deems appropriate, a county board of elections to use a direct record electronic (DRE) voting system in any election prior to July 1, 2020, provided the State Board determines the following conditions are satisfied: "(1) The county board of elections submits a hardship request to the State Board to use a DRE voting system in an election or elections prior to July 1, 2020, as specified in the request, and provides documentation that replacement of the machines prior to July 1, 2020, would create an undue hardship for the county. "(2) The county board of elections provides sufficient information for the State Board to conclude that the use of the DRE voting system will not jeopardize the security of the election or elections. "(3) The county board of elections has begun the process and time line for replacing the DRE voting system and provides documentation to the State Board regarding the time line for that process and specifically the time of testing as required by G.S. 163-165.9 ." Session Laws 2019-239, s. 5.12, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this Part apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2019-239, s. 5.14, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2006-262, s. 4, effective January 1, 2007, added the last sentence in subdivision (6). Session Laws 2013-381, ss. 30.1, 30.2, substituted "or a paper" for "the face of a lever voting machine, the image on a direct record electronic unit, or a" in the second sentence of subdivision (1); and added subdivision (5a). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2015-103, s. 4(a), effective June 22, 2015, substituted "that voter's choice for a ballot item" for "a choice" in subdivision (1). Session Laws 2015-103, s. 5(a), in the version of subdivision (1) effective January 1, 2018, added "and is evidenced by an individual paper document that bears marks made by the voter by hand or through electronic means, whether preprinted or printed in the voting enclosure" and deleted the former second sentence, which read: "The term 'ballot' may include a paper ballot to be counted by hand, a paper ballot to be counted on an electronic scanner, or a paper ballot used on any other voting system."; and deleted subdivision (5a), which read: "(5a) 'Paper ballot' means an individual paper document that bears marks made by the voter by hand or through electronic means." For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For article, "'High Court Wrongly Elected': A Public Choice Model of Judging and Its Implications for the Voting Rights Act," see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 1305 (1997).