GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1294
     

 
Short Title:	Election Day Registration.	()	
Sponsors:	Representative Luebke.	
Referred to:	Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform.	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow voter registration on election day.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163-82.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-82.6.  Acceptance of application forms.
(a)	How the Form May Be Submitted. – The county board of elections shall accept any form described in G.S. 163-82.3 if the applicant submits the form by mail or in person. The applicant may delegate the submission of the form to another person. Any person who communicates to an applicant acceptance of that delegation shall deliver that form so that it is received by the appropriate county board of elections in time to satisfy the registration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section for the next election. It shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to communicate to the applicant acceptance of that delegation and then fail to make a good faith effort to deliver the form so that it is received by the county board of elections in time to satisfy the registration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section for the next election. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of failing to make a good faith effort to deliver a delegated form by the registration deadline that the delegatee informed the applicant that the form would not likely be delivered in time for the applicant to vote in the next election. It shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to sell or attempt to sell a completed voter registration form or to condition its delivery upon payment.
(b)	Signature. – The form shall be valid only if signed by the applicant.
(c)	Registration Deadlines for an Election. – In order to be valid for an election, the form:
(1)	If submitted by mail, must be postmarked at least 25 days before the election, except that any mailed application on which the postmark is missing or unclear is validly submitted if received in the mail not later than 20 days before the election,
(2)	If submitted in person, must be received by the county board of elections by 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-fifth day before the election,
(3)	If submitted through a delegatee who violates the duty set forth in subsection (a) of this section, must be signed by the applicant and given to the delegatee not later than 25 days before the election,
except as provided in subsection (d) of this section. 

(f)	Election Day Registration. – An individual who is eligible to vote may be registered on election day by a precinct official if the individual appears in person at the voting place for the precinct in which that individual resides, completes a registration form, makes an oath in the form prescribed by the State Board of Elections, and provides proof of residence. An individual may provide proof of residence for the purposes of registering on election day by one of the following:
(1)	Showing a North Carolina drivers license or identification card issued pursuant to G.S. 20-37.7.
(2)	Showing any document approved by the State Board of Elections as proper identification.
(3)	Having a voter who is registered to vote in the precinct sign an oath in the presence of the precinct official vouching that the voter personally knows that the individual is a resident of the precinct. A voter who has been vouched for may not sign a proof of residence oath vouching for any other individual on election day.
A county board of elections may require that the precinct chief judge initial each completed registration form."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2002.