North Carolina § 163-166 - 4. Limitation on activity in the voting place and in a buffer zone around it.

§ 163-166. 4. Limitation on activity in the voting place and in a buffer zone around it.

Buffer Zone. - No person or group of persons shall hinder access, harass others, distribute campaign literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise engage in election-related activity in the voting place or in a buffer zone which shall be prescribed by the county board of elections around the voting place. In determining the dimensions of that buffer zone for each voting place, the county board of elections shall, where practical, set the limit at 50 feet from the door of entrance to the voting place, measured when that door is closed, but in no event shall it set the limit at more than 50 feet or at less than 25 feet. Area for Election-Related Activity. - Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the county board of elections shall also provide an area adjacent to the buffer zone for each voting place in which persons or groups of persons may distribute campaign literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise engage in election-related activity. Special Agreements About Election-Related Activity. - The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections may grant special permission for a county board of elections to enter into an agreement with the owners or managers of a nonpublic building to use the building as a voting place on the condition that election-related activity as described in subsection (b) of this section not be permitted on their property adjacent to the buffer zone, if the Executive Director finds all of the following: That no other suitable voting place can be secured for the precinct. That the county board will require the chief judge of the precinct to monitor the grounds around the voting place to ensure that the restriction on election-related activity shall apply to all candidates and parties equally. That the pattern of voting places subject to agreements under this subsection does not disproportionately favor any party, racial or ethnic group, or candidate. That the county board has attempted to secure as a term of the agreement at least 36 hours prior to the opening of the voting place and at least 36 hours after the close of the voting place, as provided in G.S. 163-166.01, for candidates to place and retrieve political advertising. The agreement may also provide that any political advertising placed outside the times specified in this subsection may be removed by the property owner. Notice About Buffer Zone and Area for Election-Related Activity. - No later than 30 days before each election, the county board of elections shall make available to the public the following information concerning each voting place: The door from which the buffer zone is measured. The distance the buffer zone extends from that door. Any available information concerning where political activity, including sign placement, is permitted beyond the buffer zone. Buffer Zone and Area for Election-Related Activity at One-Stop Sites. - Except as modified in this subsection, the provisions of this section shall apply to one-stop voting sites in G.S. 163-227.2, 163-227.5, and 163-227.6. Subsection (c) of this section shall not apply. The notice in subsection (d) of this section shall be provided no later than 10 days before the opening of one-stop voting at the site. An agreement under this subsection shall be valid for as long as the nonpublic building is used as a voting place. History (2001-460, s. 3; 2003-365, s. 1; 2007-391, s. 13; 2008-187, s. 33(a); 2009-541, s. 22(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-144, s. 3.4(c); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b); 2019-119, s. 1.5(b).) Editor's Note. - This section was recodified as now former G.S. 163A-1134 by Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Former G.S. 163A-1134 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 2007-391, s. 1(c), was amended by Session Laws 2008-198, s. 33(a), to eliminate any confusion as to the effective dates of the 2007 act. Session Laws 2007-391, s. 13, which added subsection (d), is effective August 19, 2007. 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 2019-4 provides in its preamble: "Whereas, in November 2018, the voters of North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment requiring every voter offering to vote in person to present photographic identification before voting; and "Whereas, the approved constitutional amendment became effective upon certification of the November 6, 2018, election results; and "Whereas, the General Assembly of North Carolina enacted S.L. 2018-144 in December 2018, setting forth the general laws governing the requirements of photographic identification for voting in person and the exceptions thereto, and setting forth a time line of implementation for the 2019 elections and thereafter; and "Whereas, S.L. 2018-144 also contained reforms to the process of absentee voting by mail and those reforms require rule making and other implementation efforts from the State Board of Elections; and "Whereas, in February 2019, the need for a special congressional election to fill a vacancy in the United States House of Representatives has arisen due to unforeseen circumstances, and the Governor has determined a schedule for such special election; and "Whereas, in March 2019, the State Board of Elections issued an order to conduct a new election in a separate United States House of Representatives district and has determined a schedule for such new election; and "Whereas, the schedule of the two additional elections generates concerns about the ability of the county boards of election and the State Board of Elections to ensure uniformity in the requirement to present photographic identification before voting in person; and "Whereas, the absentee voting by mail reforms in S.L. 2018-144 require rule making and other administrative procedures on the part of the State Board of Elections which will not be completed prior to the two additional 2019 congressional elections; and "Whereas, the State Board of Elections needs legislative clarity regarding absentee voting by mail in order to conduct the two additional 2019 congressional elections in an orderly fashion; Now, therefore," Session Laws 2019-4, s. 1(a), (b), provides: "(a) S.L. 2018-144 shall not apply to any election held in 2019 for which the filing period opens prior to the date set forth in Section 1.5(a)(8) of S.L. 2018-144. "(b) Notwithstanding Section 1(a) of this act, all implementation and educational efforts set forth in S.L. 2018-144 during 2019 by the State and counties shall continue." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2003-365, s. 1, effective January 1, 2004, rewrote the section. Session Laws 2007-391, effective August 19, 2007, s. 13, added subsection (d). Session Laws 2009-541, s. 22(a), effective January 1, 2010, and applicable to primaries and elections held on and after that date, in subsection (a), redesignated the former second paragraph as present subsection (a1) and deleted "and Adjacent Area for Election-Related Activity" at the end of the subsection (a) heading; in present subsection (a1), inserted the subsection heading and substituted "subsection (b) of the section" for "subsection (b)"; added "and Area for Election-Related Activity" at the end of the subsection (c) heading; and rewrote subsection (d). Session Laws 2018-144, s. 3.4(c), effective December 19, 2018, in subsection (e), deleted "163A-1301" following "G.S. 163A-1300"; and made a minor stylistic change. Session Laws 2019-119, s. 1.5(b), effective December 1, 2019, added subdivision (c)(4).