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After delays by one lawsuit with another suit pending, along with a possible change in one gubernatorial candidate, state elections officials said today that the first absentee by mail ballots will be sent out Friday (Sept. 20).
Absentee ballots go out Friday to military voters and citizens living outside the United States who requested them. The mailing is considered the official start of the 2024 general election in North Carolina.
Absentee ballots were delayed after Robert Kennedy Jr. sued to have his name removed from the November presidential ballot. Kennedy and his We The People party initially had to file a lawsuit to be included on the ballot, despite meeting the statutory requirements and deadlines.
When Kennedy dropped out to endorse Republican Donald Trump, the state refused the request to remove his name, although it was well before the deadline to withdraw. A Superior Court judge in Wake County initially upheld the State Board of Elections claim that it would be too expensive and confusing to reprint ballots, but the Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court sided with Kennedy.
That led to the state missing the original deadline for mail-in ballots to be sent for overseas voters.
Roughly 2.9 million ballots had to reprinted statewide, the state said. The SBOE noted that all 100 county boards of elections, with the help of State Board staff and printing vendors, succeeded in printing new ballots ahead of the September 21 federal deadline to send ballots to voters through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
State Board staff also had to ensure all 2,347 ballot styles across the state will be available through the North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal. Ballots are different in each county due to local, state and congressional races. Through the ballot portal, any registered voter in North Carolina can request an absentee ballot. Military and overseas citizen voters can also receive and return their ballot electronically through the portal.
On Sept. 24, county boards of elections will begin mailing absentee ballots to all other voters who requested them for the Nov. 5 election. Ballots will be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, and voters may not get them until several days after they are mailed.
Statewide through Thursday morning, about 193,700 voters had requested absentee ballots, including nearly 16,000 military and overseas voters. For up-to-date data on absentee ballot requests, see Daily Absentee Request Reports.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. Election officials recommend requesting and returning your ballot sooner to ensure it can be completed and received by the county board of elections by the return deadline.
For military and overseas citizen voters only, the request deadline is 5 p.m. November 4, the day before Election Day.
Completed absentee ballots must be received by the county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. For military and overseas citizen voters only, the receipt deadline is is 7:30 p.m. on Election Day for voters who return their ballot electronically, and 5 p.m. Nov. 14 by mail.
Absentee voters, with the exception of military and overseas citizen voters, must provide a photocopy of an acceptable form of photo ID when they return their ballot or fill out and return the Photo ID Exception Form that comes with the ballot materials.
Absentee voters, with the exception of military and overseas citizen voters, must provide a photocopy of an acceptable form of photo ID when they return their ballot, or fill out and return the Photo ID Exception Form that comes with the ballot materials.
Absentee ballots can be tracked using BallotTrax starting Sept. 24.
Conventional absentee voters can return their ballot by mailing it or returning it in person to their county board of elections or to any early voting site during the early voting period – Oct. 17 through Nov. 2.
The cost to return an absentee ballot by mail through the U.S. Postal Service has increased to $1.77, or three “Forever” stamps.
If you request a ballot by mail but do not return it, you can still vote in person during the early voting period (Oct. 17 – Nov. 2) or on Election Day. Absentee ballots must be discarded if you vote in person.
For more information contact the Columbus County Board of Elections at 910.640.6609.
