North Carolina § 163-231 - Voting absentee ballots and transmitting them to the county board of elections.

§ 163-231. Voting absentee ballots and transmitting them to the county board of elections.

Procedure for Voting Absentee Ballots. - In the presence of two persons who are at least 18 years of age, and who are not disqualified by G.S. 163-226.3(a)(4) or G.S. 163-237(c), the voter shall do all of the following: Mark the voter's ballots, or cause them to be marked by that person in the voter's presence according to the voter's instruction. Fold each ballot separately, or cause each of them to be folded in the voter's presence. Place the folded ballots in the container-return envelope and securely seal it, or have this done in the voter's presence. Make the application printed on the container-return envelope according to the provisions of G.S. 163-229(b) and make the certificate printed on the container-return envelope according to the provisions of G.S. 163-229(b). Require those two persons in whose presence the voter marked that voter's ballots to sign the application and certificate as witnesses and to indicate those persons' addresses. Failure to list a ZIP code does not invalidate the application and certificate. Do one of the following: Have the application notarized. The notary public may be the person in whose presence the voter marked that voter's ballot. Have the two persons in whose presence the voter marked that voter's ballots to certify that the voter is the registered voter submitting the marked ballots. Transmitting Executed Absentee Ballots to County Board of Elections. - The sealed container-return envelope in which executed absentee ballots have been placed shall be transmitted to the county board of elections who issued those ballots as follows: All ballots issued under the provisions of this Article and Article 21A of this Chapter shall be transmitted by mail or by commercial courier service, at the voter's expense, or delivered in person, or by the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian and received by the county board not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the statewide primary or general election or county bond election. Ballots issued under the provisions of Article 21A of this Chapter may also be electronically transmitted. If ballots are received later than the hour stated in subdivision (1) of this subsection, those ballots shall not be accepted unless one of the following applies: Federal law so requires. The ballots issued under this Article are postmarked and that postmark is dated on or before the day of the statewide primary or general election or county bond election and are received by the county board of elections not later than three days after the election by 5:00 p.m. The ballots issued under Article 21A of this Chapter are received by the county board of elections not later than the end of business on the business day before the canvass conducted by the county board of elections held pursuant to G.S. 163-182.5. For purposes of this section, "Delivered in person" includes delivering the ballot to an election official at a one-stop voting site under G.S. 163-227.2, 163-227.5, and 163-227.6 during any time that site is open for voting. The ballots shall be kept securely and delivered by election officials at that site to the county board of elections office for processing. Alternatively to the prior paragraph of this subsection, any requirement for two witnesses shall be satisfied if witnessed by one notary public, who shall comply with all the other requirements of that paragraph. The notary shall affix a valid notarial seal to the envelope, and include the word "Notary Public" below his or her signature. The persons in whose presence the ballot is marked shall at all times respect the secrecy of the ballot and the privacy of the absentee voter, unless the voter requests assistance and that person is otherwise authorized by law to give assistance. When thus executed, the sealed container-return envelope, with the ballots enclosed, shall be transmitted in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section to the county board of elections which issued the ballots. History (1939, c. 159, ss. 2, 5; 1941, c. 248; 1943, c. 736; c. 751, s. 1; 1945, c. 758, s. 5; 1963, c. 457, ss. 2, 5; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1971, c. 1247, s. 3; 1973, c. 536, s. 1; 1977, c. 469, s. 1; 1979, c. 799, s. 5; 1985, c. 562, ss. 1, 2; 1987, c. 583, ss. 1, 2; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 991, s. 4; 1999-455, s. 11; 2009-537, ss. 6, 8(a); 2011-182, s. 5; 2013-381, s. 4.4; 2014-111, s. 11; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-144, s. 3.4(j); 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 4.8.) Editor's Note. - This section was recodified as now former G.S. 163A-1310 by Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Former G.S. 163A-1310 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 2013-381, s. 1.1, provides: "Parts 1 through 6 of this act shall be known and cited as the Voter Information Verification Act." Session Laws 2018-144, s. 2(a) repealed Session Laws 2013-381, s. 1.1, effective December 19, 2018. Session Laws 2013-381, s. 6.2(4), made the amendment to this section by Session Laws 2013-381, s. 4.4, applicable to primaries and elections held on or after January 1, 2014. Session Laws 2013-381, s. 6.2(6), provides: "At any primary and election between May 1, 2014, and January 1, 2016, any registered voter may present that voter's photo identification to the elections officials at the voting place but may not be required to do so. At each primary and election between May 1, 2014, and January 1, 2016, each voter presenting in person shall be notified that photo identification will be needed to vote beginning in 2016 and be asked if that voter has one of the forms of photo identification appropriate for voting. If that voter indicates he or she does not have one or more of the types of photo identification appropriate for voting, that voter shall be asked to sign an acknowledgment of the photo identification requirement and be given a list of types of photo identification appropriate for voting and information on how to obtain those types of photo identification. The list of names of those voters who signed an acknowledgment is a public record." Session Laws 2013-381, s. 60.1, is a severability clause. 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." Session Laws 2020-17, s. 1(a), provides: "For an election held in 2020, notwithstanding G.S. 163-229(b) and G.S. 163-231(a) , and provided all other requirements for absentee ballots are met, a voter's returned absentee ballot shall be accepted and processed accordingly by the county board of elections if the voter marked the ballot in the presence of at least one person who is at least 18 years of age and is not disqualified by G.S. 163-226.3(a)(4) or G.S. 163-237(c) , provided that the person signed the application and certificate as a witness and printed that person's name and address on the container-return envelope. For an election held in 2020, notwithstanding G.S. 163-229(b) , the State Board of Elections may prepare applications for each container-return envelope providing for a space for the identification of one person witnessing the casting of the absentee ballot in accordance with G.S. 163-231 , that person's signature, and that person's printed name and address." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-182, s. 5, effective January 1, 2012, in subsection (b), in the first sentence, substituted "Articles 20 and 21A" for "Articles 20 and 21," added the second sentence, and in the third sentence, substituted "Article 21A" for "Article 21" and "not later than the end of business on the business day before the canvass conducted by the county board of elections held pursuant to G.S. 163-182.5 " for "not later than three days after the election by 5:00 p.m." Session Laws 2013-381, s. 4.4, effective January 1, 2014, in subsection (a), substituted "two persons" for "a person," added "do all of the following", subdivision (a)(5), and the second paragraph, deleted the former second sentence of the third paragraph, which read "The person in whose presence the ballot was marked shall sign the application and certificate as a witness and shall indicate that person's address" and made minor stylistic and punctuation changes throughout; in subsection (b), substituted "those ballots" for "them" and redesignated former subsection (b) as present subsection (b) and subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2); rewrote subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2); and added subsection (c). For applicability, see Editor's note. Session Laws 2014-111, s. 11, effective August 6, 2014, added the last sentence in subdivision (a)(5). Session Laws 2018-144, s. 3.4(j), effective December 19, 2018, in subsection (c), deleted "163A-1301" following "G.S. 163A-1300"; and made a minor stylistic change. Session Laws 2018-146, s. 4.8, effective December 27, 2018, added subdivision (a)(6).