Absentee voting by mail

I thought I'd post today on absentee by mail voting in North Carolina. It's also known as "no excuse" voting, meaning that you don't have to have a reason (like being out of town on Election Day) for using that method to vote.

Absentee by mail voting is a multi-step process:

1. There must be a request for an absentee ballot in writing, signed by the voter, near relative, or "verifiable legal guardian."
2. The request is delivered to the county BOE office either by mail or in person (if in person, it can be delivered by a near relative or verifiable legal guardian.)
3. The ballot is either mailed to the voter or handed out if the request is delivered in person.
4. The voter votes the ballot in the presence of a witness, folds it (yes, the statute specifies that it is to be folded!), places it in the ballot container (envelope), and seals the envelope.
5. The voter must sign the outside of the envelope, and the witness must also sign the outside of the envelope, along with the witness' address.
6. The envelope must be timely mailed back to the county BOE office or hand delivered by the voter or a near relative.

Several notes:

1. The county BOE keeps a register of all ballots handed out, whether or not they are returned, and when they are returned.
2. The county BOE also checks the signature of the voter on the outside of the envelope against the voter's signature both on the request for an absentee ballot and on the voter's initial registration form. If, in the opinion of the county BOE staff, there is a question as to whether the signatures match, the issue will be brought before the county BOE at their next meeting.
3. There are specific definitions as to who qualifies as a near relative.
4. There are also procedures for how the voter is to mark the ballot or receive help in marking the ballot if he or she cannot mark it on their own.
5. Ballots can be disqualified not only if the signatures don't match, but also if a witness fails to sign, or if a witness fails to list his or her address.
6. All of the determinations by the county BOE are made prior to the opening of the envelope to retrieve the ballot. If the ballot is disqualified, our practice in Wake County was to direct the staff to try to contact the voter to let him or her know the ballot had been disqualified. The voter could then choose to request another absentee ballot (if there was time), go to an early voting site (also known as a one-stop site), or vote in his or her precinct on Election Day.
7. Once an absentee by mail ballot is approved, the fact that the voter has voted is marked in the computer records so that when the poll books are printed just before Election Day, the poll book will show that the voter has already voted.