GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1185

 
 
Short Title:	No-Excuse Absentee Deadline.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Blue;  Adams, Fitch, and Wainwright.	
Referred to:	Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform.	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to adjust the period for no-excuse one-stop absentee voting by allowing more time after the books close to begin the process, but to extend it to incLude the saturday before the election.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑227.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Not earlier than the first business day after the twenty-second day before an election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday prior to that election, the voter shall appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections, except as provided in subsection (f1) of this section. 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.  G.S. 163‑227.2(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Notwithstanding the exception specified in G.S. 163‑36, counties which operate a modified full‑time office shall remain open five days each week during regular business hours consistent with daily hours presently observed by the county board of elections, commencing with the date prescribed in G.S. 163‑227.2(b) and continuing until 5:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to that election or primary, and shall also be open on the Saturday before the election. The boards of county commissioners shall provide necessary funds for the additional operation of the office during that time."
SECTION 3.  This act applies with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2002.