NC election officials highlight changes affecting voters ahead of primary
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – As voters prepare to head to the polls on for North Carolina’s primary election on Tuesday, state election officials highlighted various changes voters will notice this year.
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the NC State Board of Elections, pointed to the new deadline for mail-in ballots, which must be received by the time polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
“So, at this point do not put that ballot in the mail. It likely will not arrive before the deadline at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow,” she said.
Under a law Republicans in the General Assembly passed last year, they eliminated the three-day grace period that had been in place in case mail delivery was late.
Brinson Bell noted voters can still turn in their absentee ballots in person at their county elections office. They can also destroy their mail-in ballot and choose to vote in person instead on primary day.
The new law also gives greater flexibility to poll observers to move about polling places to monitor how the election unfolds.
Results from early voting also will come in later than they have in the past.
The new law changes the time that local election officials can begin tabulating those results. Previously, they could tabulate them before the close of voting and then report them immediately after polls close. Now, they must wait until 7:30 p.m. on the day of an election once the polls have closed to begin tabulating those votes.
Brinson Bell said in some counties it could be an hour or more before they begin reporting those results.
“A small county, for example, has very little staff. And so, those individuals are wearing multiple hats,” she said. “So, even a small county may be delayed because they’re trying to keep all plates spinning at the same time.”
Republicans also redrew the election districts for Congress and the state General Assembly, which means many voters will vote in new districts for the first time this year.
Additionally, the state’s photo voter ID law went into effect in 2023. However, many voters either did not participate or did not have elections in their communities last year. So, this will be the first time they experience that new requirement.
Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said his group opposed many of the changes Republicans pursued, including the new mail-in ballot deadline. He said they’ll be monitoring to see how many ballots come in after primary day that could have been counted if the law had not changed.
“That’s clearly in our minds, disenfranchising voters,” he said.
When they passed the new law, Republicans said the move would help create greater confidence in results and lead to races being called faster instead of waiting for days to see how many more ballots come in.
There could be further changes to state law between now and the November general election.
Ten counties will test out software to try to verify signatures on mail-in ballots.
There will also be a federal trial over the state’s voter ID law, which opponents have argued is unconstitutional.
House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) said he’s concerned there are too many exceptions to the ID law that are allowed and could seek changes during the upcoming legislative session.
“You ought to have an ID to vote. I think that we ought to make that abundantly clear. So, we want to see how it gets executed,” he said.
He also told reporters last month he thinks the 17-day early voting period is too long, and the legislature could consider trying to reduce it.
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