NCSBE approves change to how county boards of elections handle ballots without photo ID
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved changes Thursday to the process used when voters cast ballots without presenting photo identification.
North Carolina requires voters to present photo ID at the polls, with the majority presenting a driver's license. Voters who do not have an acceptable form of identification may still cast a ballot by completing a Photo ID Exception Form explaining their circumstances.
In prior elections, a county board of elections had to vote unanimously to reject a ballot submitted with an exception form. Following Thursday's vote, only a simple majority would be required.
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"It's simply like I said, I think inviting the opportunity for increased partisanship in the process of approving these forms," said Tyler Daye, program manager for Common Cause North Carolina.
All county boards of elections in North Carolina are currently Republican-controlled.
"There's not significant voter fraud in our state. By making this rule to make it majority instead of unanimous, it feeds into that lie that there's a ton of fraud in our state," said Jeff Carmon, a Democratic member of the State Board of Elections.
Supporters of the change said that ballot denials are uncommon and said the unanimous-vote requirement was never required under state law.
"The text of the statute relating to the photo ID exception form does not require a unanimous requirement," said Stacy Eggers, a Republican who serves as Secretary of the State Board of Elections. "That is something that was something that was invented out of whole cloth by this Board."
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Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, agreed with Eggers.
"I do believe that if the board finds that there are reasons to go ahead and continue the investigation of the affidavit, they should go ahead and be able to do that," Jackson said. "We can't just have one board member hold this up."
Voters whose ballots are challenged would still have the opportunity to address county election board members directly before a final decision is made.
The State Board also considered changes related to activities outside polling places.
"This rule, I think, is overly strenuous. It bans the use of sound amplification devices outside the polls," said Daye.
"I still think on the amplified sound part, (the Board) may run into trouble. There may be a lawsuit involved there. Now, (the Board) did clarify that if, for example, if you're outside across the street and you're doing amplified sound, then there's really nothing they can do because you're outside the kind of zone of control of the chief judge. This is specifically for the electioneering area that had been set aside within the property of the voting place. I think that (the Board is) probably in a better spot now than they were when these rules were first proposed," said Jackson.
The state's Rules Review Commission must still approve the changes before they take effect.
The State Board of Elections is also expected to hold another hearing in the near future to discuss rules and procedures for mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections.
