A federal judge recently upheld vote-by-mail restrictions that could lead to thousands of North Carolinians having their ballots rejected. The new restrictions were put in place by the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections hours before ballots were mailed to voters.
North Carolina already had strict rules in place for voting by mail. But this year’s changes have tightened the rules even further, largely around how the ballot’s two envelopes must be sealed. While a seemingly minor technicality, it’s one that could lead to twice as many ballots being rejected this year.
Here are some examples of how the new GOP restrictions could lead to ballots being tossed:
- If the bigger ballot envelope is sealed but the inner envelope isn’t.
- If someone places their ballot inside the sleeve intended for a copy of their voter ID rather than in the separate envelope for their ballot.
- If two people living together at the same address put their ballots in the same envelope, one or both ballots can be thrown out.
Did you request a mail-in ballot? Here’s what you can do.
Already mailed your ballot?
- Check the status of your ballot at BallotTrax, a site run by the North Carolina State Board of Elections: northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/.
- If the status of your ballot says “accepted,” then you’re good to go.
- If it says ANYTHING other than “accepted,” follow up with your local board of elections to check on the status of your ballot. You can find the contact info for your county board at vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo.
- If your ballot has not been accepted, you can still vote in person during the early voting period or on Election Day. Make a plan to vote early in person at ncvoter.org
- If you encounter any issues or have questions about the processing of your ballot, call the NC Voter Protection Hotline at 888-OUR-VOTE (888-687-8683). A trained volunteer will help walk you through next steps.
Requested a ballot, but haven’t returned it?
- If you’re physically able, vote early in person. It’s quick, easy, and you can do it even if you’ve already requested an absentee ballot. Just be sure to tear up and discard your absentee ballot at home.
- Even if you hand-deliver an absentee ballot to an early voting site, your ballot will not be immediately counted. Once you drop it off, absentee ballots are sent to your local board of elections, where the ballot could still be thrown out under the new restrictions. Bottom line: It’ll be quicker and easier to vote early in person.
- If you need physical assistance, curbside voting is available at every voting site in North Carolina. Through curbside voting, a voter can cast a ballot while in a vehicle outside the polling location. Information on curbside voting at a specific voting site can be obtained from the site’s respective county board of elections
- You can vote early until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. You can find the hours for your nearest early voting location at ncvoter.org.
If you MUST vote by mail…
- Check out this video from the NC Voter Protection Alliance with instructions on how to return your ballot.
- Make sure you seal BOTH envelopes provided in your ballot package– the inner envelope that contains your completed ballot, and the outer envelope that contains the inner envelope.
- Return your ballot TODAY. Your county board of elections must receive an absentee ballot by Nov. 3 in order to be counted. There is no grace period for mailing delays.
Key Resources
- Have questions? Call the NC Voter Protection Hotline: 888-OUR-VOTE (888-687-8683)
- Track the status of your ballot at BallotTrax: northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/
- Make a plan to vote early in-person: ncvoter.org
