According to a new public opinion poll, many North Carolinians are not aware of significant security measures that make voting by mail safe and secure in North Carolina.

In a Catawba College-YouGov survey of 1,000 North Carolinians conducted Aug. 7–20, 2024,  a majority — 53% — are not aware of a system that tracks the status of their mail-in ballots, along with receiving alerts notifying voters of various stages of where their mail-in ballot is in the election process.

The NC State Board of Elections offers BallotTrax service to track their mail-in ballot, from printing to acceptance. Voters can also receive automated phone calls and/or text alerts informing them of their absentee ballots’ status.

American Majority-North Carolina has been training conservative groups and activists for more than a year in safety and security measures that ensure accuracy and accountability in no-excuse mail voting in North Carolina, as well as in-person voting.

While significant progress has been made, more work needs to be done.

North Carolina voters can find more information on no-excuse voting by mail and early voting at www.securevotenc.com

The Catawba-YouGov survey was administered for the independent cross-partisan Commission on the Future of North Carolina Elections about North Carolinians’ knowledge and awareness of election protections regarding the 2024 election and the administration of safe, secure, and fair elections in the state. The survey’s margin of error (adjusted for weights) is +/- 3.87 percent.

Fifty eight percent of North Carolinians are not aware that the state prevents the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots. According to laws adopted in 2023, North Carolina does not allow depositing a mail-in ballot “in a drop box or other location designated for the return of voted absentee ballots.”

“What we may be seeing in North Carolina, when it comes to the use of drop boxes for example, is the nationalization of our news and our receptivity of that news,” said Michael Bitzer, Catawba College professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service. “A significant majority of poll respondents were not aware that North Carolina bans such devices to collect absentee by-mail ballots, but when they hear of other states having drop boxes, they may automatically think that our state has them too. And that’s not the case, as with a lot of things in election administration: it’s 50 different systems to run elections.”

Other findings of the Catawba-YouGov survey on North Carolinians’ knowledge and awareness of elections include:

  • A majority — 53% — of North Carolinians are not aware that polling-place equipment is not connected to the broader internet when voters cast ballots. Among both self-identified Republicans and Independents, 56% are not aware, while 45% of Democrats are not aware.
  • Regarding awareness of North Carolina officials testing every voting machine used in the election to ensure the machine’s security, 46% said they are aware. But among self-identified partisans, nearly two-thirds of Democrats are aware, while 37% of Republicans are aware. Another 36% of Republicans are aware but expressed concerns about the security of voting machines.
  • Nearly 45% of North Carolinians are aware that election officials “conduct audits of ballots after every election to confirm the accurate results,” with another quarter saying they were aware but had concerns about audits.
  • A plurality (43%) is not aware that “paper ballots are produced regardless of the voting method or equipment used to cast a vote in North Carolina,” while a third are not aware that “paper ballots are stored in secure facilities so there is always a paper trail, and that audits and recounts can be conducted in North Carolina.” 

“Voting by mail or in-person, early voting is safe and secure in North Carolina,” said American Majority President Ned Ryun. “While there will always be work to be done to improve election integrity, North Carolina voters can be confident in casting an early ballot, and American Majority is determined to take that message to all voters and all corners of the state, from Manteo to Murphy.”