By Michael Perchick
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RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) — The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved new guidance Friday that changes how some absentee ballots will be handled, drawing sharp disagreement among board members and concern from voting rights advocates as absentee ballots begin going out to voters across the state.
The Board approved two numbered memos in 3-2 votes along party lines during a meeting Friday morning, with Republicans in favor and Democrats in opposition.
One change addresses ballot envelopes and could result in some absentee ballots being rejected if they are not properly sealed.
“If there were issues or irregularities with the seal, maybe it just didn’t stick really well, and it wasn’t sealed properly, but you sent it in anyway, that would normally count,” said Joselle Torres, Communications Manager for Democracy North Carolina. “But with the update of this memo, if the envelope itself isn’t properly sealed, that could now be spoiled, rejected, and a new ballot would be sent out, or you could come and vote in person.”
Friday’s meeting coincided with the first day absentee ballots were being sent to voters in North Carolina.
The issue stems from a proposal previously approved by the State Board of Elections and the state’s Rules Review Commission. Because of the amount of public feedback received, the proposal is also subject to legislative review, which has not yet occurred. Despite that, the Board moved forward by issuing guidance through numbered memos, saying counties needed direction as absentee ballots are now being mailed to voters.
The second change places greater restrictions on who may return an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter, limiting that authority to certain relatives and guardians. Board members disagreed about how significant the change will be for voters.
“Some of it is putting our numbered memo in alignment with the rules,” said board member Siobhan Duffy O’Millen, a Democrat. “But some of it, I would say, is sneaking in a whole new provision about if Aunt Betty brings in your absentee ballot, they’re going to spoil it. If she’s not a close enough relation, instead of it being vague like it is now, now, the new rule that we’re just about to pass says spoil and reissue. That’s new.”
Republican board member Stacy Eggers IV said the changes are primarily procedural guidance for county election officials.
“The voter experience in casting their ballots will not change,” Eggers said. “This numbered memo is simply guidance, updated guidance, I might add, as to what the board and staff at the county level will do and how they will process things.”
Voting rights advocates said they are concerned the changes could result in more ballots being rejected.
“The change that they made today is that your ballot has to be dropped off by a near relative or a guardian, and if it is not dropped off by one of those people, it will be spoiled,” said Kat Roblez, Senior Voting Rights Counsel and Litigation Manager for Forward Justice. “That’s the part that has changed, that your ballot will automatically be spoiled if it is dropped off by your friend, your neighbor.”
Voters with disabilities who require assistance have wider latitude in who can drop off a ballot on their behalf, though there are still rules they need to abide by.
The process used to implement the changes also became a source of debate during the meeting.
“Now, to my mind, we’re doing an end run around the process that we said we wanted to do and revising the numbered memo,” O’Millen said.
Eggers defended the board’s actions, and she noted that previous boards did not always use the same rulemaking process.
“Having served on this board with my colleagues for a number of years, somewhat amused that they’re taking the position that we must have legislative review before we do anything,” Eggers said. “Because previous to this, this board and previous to your becoming chair, there was no attempt to utilize a rules process with the Rules Review Commission.”
The board’s actions come as election officials continue monitoring a separate federal legal battle involving mail-in voting.
An executive order issued by President Donald Trump that would introduce new restrictions involving the U.S. Postal Service is currently blocked by a federal judge.
“For right now there is no change,” Roblez said. “And I think that’s the best message because it is really confusing all of this back and forth and the headlines and the different orders going back and forth.”
“If you’re able to vote early, just vote early because you can update your voter registration. You can go to any site in your county, and with the concerns of (changes surrounding) mail voting, we’re going to more than likely see a shift of those voters potentially voting early so they don’t have to deal with the headache and the stress that now the federal government and our state Board of Elections is imposing on North Carolina voters who have used vote by mail safely and securely for many, many election cycles,” added Torres.
Gov. Josh Stein criticized the board’s action in a statement posted on X Friday:
“Today the State Board of Elections approved new ways for mail-in ballots to be rejected on technicalities, including changes that had been put on hold by state law after I joined a number of other North Carolinians in objecting to them. The State Board’s decision is a slap in the face to voters who stood up to these changes and a blatant circumvention of the law. North Carolina voters deserve transparency in their elections, not last-minute workarounds that could keep their vote from counting. I will continue to stand up for voters’ access to the ballot box.”
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