The North Carolina State Board of Elections is weighing guidance for county election officials on how to handle returned absentee ballots after its new absentee ballot rules were delayed from taking effect.
The board postponed consideration of the guidance Wednesday, saying members needed more time to review drafts they received the night before.
In July, the board adopted several sets of new election rules, including a set of absentee ballot rules approved 3-2 along party lines detailing how county officials must handle problems with returned absentee ballots.
The rules would allow voters to correct some problems, such as a missing voter signature or a defective photo identification, without casting a new ballot. Other problems, including a missing witness signature or certain issues involving unsealed or reopened ballot envelopes, would require officials to spoil the original ballot and issue a replacement ballot if enough time remains.
Republican board members argued the rules would improve ballot security, while Democratic members warned they could reduce voter access.
The state Rules Review Commission approved the rules in August. The rules were set to take effect Sept. 1, but at least 10 people submitted written objections requesting legislative review. It is unclear when the rules might now take effect.
The board planned to discuss numbered memos regarding absentee ballots during its meeting Wednesday morning, according to its agenda.
The board routinely issues numbered memos to guide county boards on election administration procedures, Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told Carolina Journal.
However, numbered memos carry less legal weight than administrate rules, Jackson noted.
The proposed memos have not yet been made public, but Jackson told Carolina Journal he expects they will “likely provide guidance along the same lines as those regulations, preventing confusion at the county board level.”
Board Secretary Stacy “Four” Eggers IV, one of three Republicans on the five-member board, said members did not receive drafts of the memos until Tuesday night and “will need some additional time with these” before deciding whether to adopt them.
Sam Hayes, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said he and his staff “did our best to pull this together and have it in a form where we could move forward,” but added, “I believe we’re going to have to take a pause.”
Siobhan Millen, one of two Democrats on the board, agreed that the board and staff needed more time to review the memos but suggested the guidance be released by Friday, when counties begin sending absentee ballots.
The board then went into closed session for about 30 minutes to receive an update from counsel on pending litigation related to Executive Order 14399.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has joined attorneys general from 21 other states and the District of Columbia, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in challenging provisions of the order affecting mail-in voting.
After the closed session, the board voted unanimously to recess until 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4, on Webex.
During its meeting, the board also voted unanimously to fill vacancies on three county boards of elections.
At the request of the North Carolina Republican Party, the board appointed Warren Wall to the McDowell County Board of Elections and Paisley King to the Avery County Board of Elections. At the request of the North Carolina Democratic Party, the board appointed Frank Peterson to the Swain County Board of Elections.
