GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2011
H 2
HOUSE BILL 658
Second Edition Engrossed 5/18/11
Short Title: Change Early Voting Period. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Jones, Stam, Collins, and Sager (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, see Bill Information on the NCGA Web Site. |
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Referred to: |
Elections. |
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April 7, 2011
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the early voting period.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 163-227.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-227.2. Alternate procedures for requesting application for absentee ballot; "one-stop" voting procedure in board office.
…
(b) Not earlier
than the third second Thursday before an election, in which
absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to vote and not later
than 1:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election, the voter
shall appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections,
except as provided in subsection (g) of this section. For the general
election in November of even-numbered years on any weekday during that period,
one-stop voting, whether at the office of the county board of elections or at
any site under subsection (g) of this section, shall be conducted either
between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M. and 6:00 o'clock P.M. or between the
hours of 11:00 o'clock A.M. and 7:00 o'clock P.M. A county board of
elections shall conduct one-stop voting (i) for the general election in
November of even-numbered years on the last Saturday before the election
until 1:00 P.M. and may conduct it until 5:00 P.M. on that Saturday. two
Saturdays before the election either between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M.
and 4:00 o'clock P.M. or between the hours of 11:00 o'clock A.M. and 5:00
o'clock P.M. and (ii) for any other primary or election on the last Saturday
before the primary or election either between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M.
and 4:00 o'clock P.M. or between the hours of 11:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. That
voter shall enter the voting enclosure at the board office through the
appropriate entrance and shall at once state his or her name and place of
residence to an authorized member or employee of the board. In a primary
election, the voter shall also state the political party with which the voter
affiliates and in whose primary the voter desires to vote, or if the voter is
an unaffiliated voter permitted to vote in the primary of a particular party
under G.S. 163-119, the voter shall state the name of the authorizing
political party in whose primary he wishes to vote. The board member or
employee to whom the voter gives this information shall announce the name and
residence of the voter in a distinct tone of voice. After examining the
registration records, an employee of the board shall state whether the person
seeking to vote is duly registered. If the voter is found to be registered that
voter may request that the authorized member or employee of the board furnish
the voter with an application form as specified in G.S. 163-227. The voter
shall complete the application in the presence of the authorized member or
employee of the board, and shall deliver the application to that person.
…."
SECTION 2. This act applies with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2012.