North Carolina election officials are trying to fine-tune the way the state handles same-day voter registration as Republican legislators seek to make it easier to toss out ballots and critics argue they’re making it too hard for voters to access the polls.
On Tuesday, lawyers for state election officials unveiled amended rules for verifying the addresses of people who register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. The changes came in response to a court ruling that said people need a formal way to appeal being removed from the voter rolls if election officials send them a single piece of mail that comes back as undeliverable.
The State Board of Elections sent county election offices an updated memorandum about how to conduct same-day registration and submitted it to federal court. North Carolina offers the option to simultaneously register to vote and immediately cast a ballot during a 17-day period before a primary or general election.
WISCONSIN JUDGE ORDERS ELECTIONS OFFICIALS TO QUICKLY IMPLEMENT EXPANDED ABSENTEE BALLOT CRITERIA
The state’s primaries are March 5, with the early voting period that includes same-day registration starting Feb. 15.
In October, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a wide-ranging voting law that in part told officials to remove a same-day registrant’s ballot from the count if just one mailed notice to the person’s address is returned as undeliverable. The previous law required counties to send two mailers, and disqualify ballots if both pieces of mail came back as undeliverable. A ruling in a previous lawsuit discouraged local election boards from challenging such votes before the final count.
People line up to check in for early voting at a polling location in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 5, 2022. Currently, North Carolina election officials are tweaking the rules for verifying the addresses of citizens who register and vote on the same day. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
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