A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the laws governing mail‑in absentee ballots AND TO RESTORE THE LAST SATURDAY OF EARLY ONE‑STOP VOTING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1306, as amended by Section 3.4(h) of S.L. 2018‑144, reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1306.  Register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued; a public record.
(a)	With respect to each request for mail‑in absentee ballots, the State Board shall approve an official register in which the county board of elections in each county of the State shall record the following information:
(1)	Name of voter for whom application and ballots are being requested, and, if applicable, the name and address of the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian who requested the application and ballots for the voter.
(2)	Number of assigned voter's application when issued.
(3)	Precinct in which the applicant is registered.
(4)	Address to which ballots are to be mailed.
(5)	Date request for application for ballots is received by the county board of elections.
(6)	The voter's party affiliation.
(7)	The date the ballots were mailed or delivered to the voter.
(8)	Whatever additional information and official action may be required by this Part.
(b)	With respect to each early "one‑stop" absentee ballot voted under G.S. 163A‑1300, 163A‑1302, 163A‑1303, or 163A‑1304, the State Board shall approve an official register in which the county board of elections in each county of the State shall record the following information:
(1)	Name of voter for whom application and ballots are being requested.
(2)	Number of assigned voter's application when issued.
(3)	The precinct in which the voter is registered.
(4)	The date the voter voted early "one‑stop."
(5)	The voter's party affiliation.
(6)	Whatever additional information and official action may be required by this Part.
(c)	The State Board may provide for the official registers required by this section to be kept by electronic data processing equipment.
(d)	The official register required by subsection (a) of this section shall be confidential and not a public record until the opening of the voting place in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1130, at which time the official register shall constitute a public record. The official register required by subsection (b) of this section shall constitute a public record and shall be opened to the inspection of any registered voter of the county within 60 days before and 30 days after an election in which absentee ballots were authorized, or at any other time when good and sufficient reason may be assigned for its inspection.
(e)	Notwithstanding subsection (d) of this section, the State Board or a county board of elections shall inform the voter of the status of that voter's request for mail‑in absentee ballots upon inquiry the voter or the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian."
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 163A‑1313 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1313.  Applications for absentee ballots; how retained.
(a)	The county board of elections shall retain, in a safe place, the original of all applications made for absentee ballots and shall make those applications available to inspection by the State Board or to any person upon the directive of the State Board. Any copies of any photographic identification associated with the request for absentee ballots shall not be a public record.
(b)	All applications for absentee ballots shall be retained by the county board of elections for a period of one year after which those applications may be destroyed."
SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 163A‑871(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Official Record. – The State voter registration system is the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections in the State. The State Board and the county board of elections may keep copies of voter registration data, including voter registration applications, in any medium and format expressly approved by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources pursuant to standards and conditions established by the Department and mutually agreed to by the Department and the State Board. A completed and signed registration application form, if available, described in G.S. 163A‑862, once approved by the county board of elections, becomes backup to the official registration record of the voter. Full or partial social security numbers, dates of birth, the identity of the public agency at which the voter registered under G.S. 163A‑884, any electronic mail address submitted under this Article or Part 2 of Article 21 of this Chapter, and drivers license numbers that may be generated by the voter, the State Board, or a county board of elections in the mail‑in absentee ballot process are confidential and shall not be considered public records and subject to disclosure to the general public under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. Cumulative data based on those items of information may be publicly disclosed as long as information about any individual cannot be discerned from the disclosed data. Disclosure of information in violation of this subsection shall not give rise to a civil cause of action. This limitation of liability does not apply to the disclosure of information in violation of this subsection as a result of gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing that would otherwise be actionable. The signature of the voter, either on the paper application or an electronically captured image of it, may be viewed by the public but may not be copied or traced except by election officials for election administration purposes. Any such copy or tracing is not a public record."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163A‑1308, as amended by S.L. 2018‑144, reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1308.  Simultaneous issuance of absentee ballots with application.
(a)	A qualified voter who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot under G.S. 163A‑1295(a) or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian, shall request in writing an application for absentee ballots so that the county board of elections receives the request not later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before the election. That written request shall be signed by the voter, the voter's near relative, or the voter's verifiable legal guardian. The county board of elections shall enter in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued the information required in G.S. 163A‑1306 as soon as each item of that information becomes available. Upon receiving the application, the county board of elections shall cause to be mailed to that voter in a single package:
(1)	The official ballots the voter is entitled to vote.
(2)	A container‑return envelope for the ballots, printed in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1307.
(3)	An instruction sheet.
The ballots, envelope, and instructions shall be mailed to the voter by the county board's chairman, member, officer, or employee as determined by the board and entered in the register as provided by this Part.
(b)	Absence for Sickness or Physical Disability. – Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if a voter expects to be unable to go to the voting place to vote in person on election day because of that voter's sickness or other physical disability, that voter or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian may make written request in person for absentee ballots to the board of elections of the county in which the voter is registered after 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election but not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The county board of elections shall enter in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued the information required in G.S. 163A‑1306(a) as soon as each item of that information becomes available. The county board of elections shall personally deliver to the requester in a single package:
(1)	The official ballots the voter is entitled to vote.
(2)	A container‑return envelope for the ballots, printed in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1307.
(3)	An instruction sheet.
(c)	Delivery of Absentee Ballots and Container‑Return Envelope to Applicant. – When the county board of elections receives a request for applications and absentee ballots from the voter, or the near relative or the verifiable legal guardian of that voter, so requesting, the board shall promptly issue and transmit them to the voter in accordance with the following instructions:
(1)	On the top margin of each ballot the applicant is entitled to vote, the chair, a member, officer, or employee of the board of elections shall write or type the words "Absentee Ballot No. ____ " or an abbreviation approved by the State Board and insert in the blank space the number assigned the applicant's application in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued. That person shall not write, type, or print any other matter upon the ballots transmitted to the absentee voter. Alternatively, the board of elections may cause to be barcoded on the ballot the voter's application number, if that barcoding system is approved by the State Board.
(2)	The chair, member, officer, or employee of the board of elections shall fold and place the ballots (identified in accordance with the preceding instruction) in a container‑return envelope and write or type in the appropriate blanks thereon, in accordance with the terms of G.S. 163A‑1307(b), the absentee voter's name, the absentee voter's application number, and the designation of the precinct in which the voter is registered. If the ballot is barcoded under this section, the envelope may be barcoded rather than having the actual number appear. The person placing the ballots in the envelopes shall leave the container‑return envelope holding the ballots unsealed.
(3)	The chair, member, officer, or employee of the board of elections shall then place the unsealed container‑return envelope holding the ballots together with printed instructions for voting and returning the ballots, in an envelope addressed to the voter at the post office address stated in the request, seal the envelope, and mail it at the expense of the county board of elections: Provided, that in case of a request received after 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election under the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, in lieu of transmitting the ballots to the voter in person or by mail, the chair, member, officer, or employee of the board of elections may deliver the sealed envelope containing the instruction sheet and the container‑return envelope holding the ballots to a near relative or verifiable legal guardian of the voter.
The county board of elections may receive written requests for applications at any time prior to the election but shall not mail applications and ballots to the voter or issue applications and ballots in person earlier than 60 days prior to the statewide general election in an even‑numbered year, or earlier than 50 days prior to any other election, except as provided in G.S. 163A‑1300, 163A‑1302, 163A‑1303, and 163A‑1304. No election official shall issue applications for absentee ballots except in compliance with this Part.
(d)	The application shall be completed and signed by the voter personally, the ballots marked, the ballots sealed in the container‑return envelope, and the certificate completed as provided in G.S. 163A‑1310.
(e)	At its next official meeting after return of the completed container‑return envelope with the voter's ballots, the county board of elections shall determine whether the container‑return envelope has been properly executed. If the board determines that the container‑return envelope has been properly executed, it shall approve the application and deposit the container‑return envelope with other container‑return envelopes for the envelope to be opened and the ballots counted at the same time as all other container‑return envelopes and absentee ballots.
(f)	Required Meeting of County Board of Elections. – During the period commencing on the third Tuesday before an election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, the county board of elections shall hold one or more public meetings each Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. for the purpose of action on applications for absentee ballots. At these meetings, the county board of elections shall pass upon applications for absentee ballots.
If the county board of elections changes the time of holding its meetings or provides for additional meetings in accordance with the terms of this subsection, notice of the change in hour and notice of the schedule of additional meetings, if any, shall be published in a newspaper circulated in the county at least 30 days prior to the election.
At the time the county board of elections makes its decision on an application for absentee ballots, the board shall enter in the appropriate column in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued opposite the name of the applicant a notation of whether the applicant's application was "Approved" or "Disapproved".
The decision of the board on the validity of an application for absentee ballots shall be final subject only to such review as may be necessary in the event of an election contest. The county board of elections shall constitute the proper official body to pass upon the validity of all applications for absentee ballots received in the county; this function shall not be performed by the chairman or any other member of the board individually.
(g)	The State Board, by rule or by instruction to the county board of elections, shall establish procedures to provide appropriate safeguards in the implementation of this section.
(h)	For the purpose of this Part, "near relative" means spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother‑in‑law, father‑in‑law, daughter‑in‑law, son‑in‑law, stepparent, or stepchild."
SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1309, as amended by S.L. 2018‑144, reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1309.  Method of requesting absentee ballots.
(a)	Valid Types of Written Requests. – A written request for an absentee ballot as required by G.S. 163A‑1308 is valid only if it is written entirely by the requester personally and signed by the requester and submitted together with the identification required by subsection (f1) of this section. If a requester, due to disability or illiteracy, is unable to complete a written request, that requester may receive assistance in writing that request from an individual of that requester's choice.

	

	
(b)	Return of Request. – A completed request for an absentee ballot shall be returned to the county board of elections only by the voter, or the near relative or the verifiable legal guardian of that voter, so requesting the absentee ballot.

(e)	Invalid Types of Written Requests. – A request is not valid if it does not comply with subsection (a) of this section. If a county board of elections receives a request for an absentee ballot that does not comply with subsection (a) of this section, the board shall not issue an application and ballot under G.S. 163A‑1308.
(f)	Rules by State Board. – The State Board shall adopt rules for the enforcement of this section.
(f1)	Photo Identification. – Each request under this section shall be accompanied by identification as described in G.S. 163A‑1145.1(a) or an affidavit as described in G.S. 163A‑1145.1(d)(1), (d)(2), or (d)(3). The rules adopted by the State Board to implement and enforce this section shall provide for the forms of identification that must be included with the request for an absentee ballot. At a minimum, the rules shall include the following:
(1)	Acceptable forms of readable identification that are substantially similar to those required under G.S. 163A‑1145.1.
(2)	A process for a voter without acceptable readable identification under subdivision (1) of this section to complete an alternative affidavit in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1145.1(d)(1), (d)(2), or (d)(3) that includes lack of access to a method to attach an electronic or physical copy of the identification card to the written request as a reasonable impediment to compliance with the identification requirement.
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SECTION 3.(b)  The State Board shall prepare and disseminate to the county boards and post on the State Board's Web site, in English and any other languages deemed appropriate by the State Board, an instruction sheet for voters with regards to the process to request a mail‑in absentee ballot, including required identification documentation. The instruction sheet shall be prepared and disseminated by at least December 1, 2019, and updated periodically to reflect any changes to the law governing requests for mail‑in absentee ballots.
SECTION 4.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1317 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑1317.  Certain violations of absentee ballot law made criminal offenses.
(a)	False Statements under Oath Made Class 1 Misdemeanor. – If any person shall willfully and falsely make any affidavit or statement, under oath, which affidavit or statement under oath, is required to be made by the provisions of this Part, that person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(b)	False Statements Not under Oath Made Class 1 Misdemeanor. – Except as provided by G.S. 163A‑1389(16), if any person, for the purpose of obtaining or voting any official ballot under the provisions of this Part, shall willfully sign any printed or written false statement which does not purport to be under oath, or which, if it purports to be under oath, was not duly sworn to, that person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(c)	Candidate Witnessing Absentee Ballots of Nonrelative Made Class 1 Misdemeanor. – A person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if that person acts as a witness under G.S. 163A‑1310(a) in any primary or election in which the person is a candidate for nomination or election, unless the voter is the candidate's near relative as defined in G.S. 163A‑1308(h).
(d)	Fraud in Connection with Absentee Vote; Forgery. – Any person attempting to aid and abet fraud in connection with any absentee vote cast or to be cast, under the provisions of this Part, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Attempting to vote by fraudulently signing the name of a regularly qualified voter is a Class G felony.
(d1)	Sell or Attempt to Sell Completed Written Request for Absentee Ballot Made a Class 2 Misdemeanor. – Any person who sells or attempts to sell, or purchases or agrees to purchase, a completed application and ballots, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(d2)	Destruction of Absentee Ballot. – Any person who intentionally fails to deliver or intentionally destroys a completed written request, a completed application for absentee ballots, or voted absentee ballots shall be guilty of a Class G felony.
(d3)	Copies or Retention of Identifying Information. – Any person, other than the voter or near relative or verifiable legal guardian of that voter, who copies or otherwise retains the request for absentee ballots, a completed application for absentee ballots, or any identifying information, as defined in G.S. 14‑113.20, disclosed in a request or application shall be guilty of a Class G felony.
(d4)	Compensation Based on Requests. – Any person who compensates another, or who accepts compensation, based on the number of returned written requests for absentee ballots under G.S. 163A‑1309 shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(d5)	Intent to Unlawfully Influence. – Any person who commits, attempts to commit, or conspires to commit a crime identified in G.S. 163A‑865(b), 163A‑1298(a), 163A‑1388, 163A‑1389, or this section with the intent to unlawfully influence or interfere with a primary or election, or to otherwise unlawfully gain, shall be guilty of a Class F felony.
(e)	Violations Not Otherwise Provided for Made Class 1 Misdemeanors. – If any person shall willfully violate any of the provisions of this Part, or willfully fail to comply with any of the provisions thereof, for which no other punishment is herein provided, that person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."
SECTION 4.(b)  This section becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
SECTION 5.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1300(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Not earlier than the third 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 G.S. 163A‑1303. A county board of elections shall conduct one‑stop voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. and may conduct one‑stop early voting until 5:00 P.M. on that Saturday. 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 and present photo identification in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1145. 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. 163A‑989, 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. 163A‑1391. 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 5.(b)  G.S. 163A‑1303(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	For all sites approved for one‑stop voting under this section, a county board of elections shall provide the following:
(1)	Each one‑stop site across the county shall be open at that same location during the period required by G.S. 163A‑1300(b).
(2)	If any one‑stop site across the county is opened on any day during the period required by G.S. 163A‑1300(b), all one‑stop sites shall be open on that day.
(3)	On each weekday during the period required by G.S. 163A‑1300(b), all one‑stop sites shall be open from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
(4)	If the county board of elections opens one‑stop sites on Saturdays other than the last Saturday before the election during the period required by G.S. 163A‑1300(b), then all one‑stop sites shall be open for the same number of hours uniformly throughout the county on those Saturdays.
(5)	If the county board of elections opens one‑stop sites on Sundays during the period required by G.S. 163A‑1300(b), then all one‑stop sites shall be open for the same number of hours uniformly throughout the county on those Sundays."
SECTION 5.(c)  This section becomes effective August 1, 2019.
SECTION 6.  Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective January 1, 2020, and applies to elections conducted on or after that date.