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, which shall be 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 absentee ballots shall not be a public record.
(b)	The county board of elections shall create a list of applications made for absentee ballots received by the county board, which shall be updated daily from the date the county board begins to mail application and ballots through the date of canvass. Such list shall be a public record.
(c)	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 complete a request form for an absentee application and absentee ballots so that the county board of elections receives that completed request form not later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before the election. That completed written request form shall be in compliance with G.S. 163A‑1309. 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 completed request form, the county board of elections shall cause to be mailed to that voter a single package that includes all of the following:
(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.
(a1)	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 the request for absentee ballots in person 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 treat that completed request form in the same manner as a request under subsection (a) of this section but may personally deliver the application and ballots to the voter or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian, and 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. 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 completed request form for applications and absentee ballots from the voter, or the near relative or the verifiable legal guardian of that voter, the county 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 completed written request forms 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 completed written request form for absentee ballots as required by G.S. 163A‑1308 is valid only if it is on a form created by the State Board and signed by the voter requesting absentee ballots or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian. The State Board shall make the form available only at its offices, and in each county board of elections office. A voter may make a request in person or by writing to the county board for the State Board created form to request absentee ballots. The request form created by the State Board shall require at least the following information:
(1)	The name and address of the residence of the voter.
(2)	The name and address of the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian if that individual is making the request.
(3)	The address of the voter to which the application and absentee ballots are to be mailed if different from the residence address of the voter.
(4)	The identification required in accordance with State Board rules, as provided in subsection (f) of this section.	
(5)	The voter's date of birth.
(6)	The signature of the voter or of the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian if that individual is making the request.
(7)	A clear indicator of the calendar year in which the election or elections generating the request are to be held.
(8)	The name of any individual or group that assisted with the voter with obtaining or completing the written request form, including any near relative or verifiable legal guardian. 
(9)	A unique identifier, applicable only to the voter completing that written request form.
(b)	Request to Update Voter Registration. – A completed request form for absentee ballots shall be deemed a request to update the official record of voter registration for that voter and shall be confirmed in writing in accordance with G.S. 163A‑877(d).
(c)	Return of Request. – The completed request form for absentee ballots shall be delivered to the county board of elections only by the voter or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian. 
(d)	Confirmation of Voter Registration. – Upon receiving a completed request form for absentee ballots, the county board shall confirm that voter's registration. If that voter is confirmed as a registered voter of the county, the absentee ballots and certification form shall be mailed to the voter, unless personally delivered in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1308(b). If the voter's official record of voter registration conflicts with the completed request form for absentee ballots or cannot be confirmed, the voter shall be so notified. If the county board cannot resolve the differences, no application or absentee ballots shall be issued.
(e)	Invalid Types of Written Requests. – A request is not valid if it is not delivered by the voter, or that voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian, or if it does not comply with subsection (a) of this section. If a county board of elections receives a request for absentee ballots that does not comply with subsection (a) of this section, the board shall not issue an application and absentee ballots under G.S. 163A‑1308.
(f)	Rules by State Board. – The State Board shall adopt rules for the enforcement of this section, including rules to provide for the forms of identification that shall be included with the completed written request for  absentee ballots. At a minimum, the rules shall include the following:
(1)	Acceptable photocopies of forms of readable identification as described in G.S. 163A‑1145.1.
(2)	A process for a voter without acceptable photocopies of forms of 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 inability to attach a physical copy of the voter's identification with the written request as a reasonable impediment to compliance with the identification requirement.
	"
SECTION 3.(b)  G.S. 163A‑1309(a)(9), as enacted by this act, is effective January 1, 2020, and applies to requests for absentee ballots on or after that date.  On or before May 1, 2020, the State Board of Elections shall report to the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee and the General Assembly as to its plans to implement this provision and any recommendations for statutory changes necessary to implement this provision.
SECTION 3.1.  G.S. 163A‑1307(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Application on Container‑Return Envelope. – In time for use not later than 60 days before a statewide general election in an even‑numbered year, and not later than 50 days before a statewide primary, other general election or county bond election, the county board of elections shall print a sufficient number of envelopes in which persons casting absentee ballots may transmit their marked ballots to the county board of elections. However, in the case of municipal elections, sufficient container‑return envelopes shall be made available no later than 30 days before an election. Each container‑return envelope shall have printed on it an application which shall be designed and prescribed by the State Board, providing for all of the following:
(1)	The voter's certification of eligibility to vote the enclosed ballot and of having voted the enclosed ballot in accordance with this Part.
(2)	A space for identification of the envelope with the voter and the voter's signature.
(3)	A space for the identification of the two persons witnessing the casting of the absentee ballot in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1310, those persons' signatures, and those persons' addresses.
(4)	A space for the name and address of any person who, as permitted under G.S. 163A‑1298(a), assisted the voter if the voter is unable to complete and sign the certification and that individual's signature.
(5)	A space for approval by the county board of elections.
(6)	A space to allow reporting of a change of name as provided by G.S. 163A‑880.
(7)	A prominent display of the unlawful acts under G.S. 163A‑1298 and G.S. 163A‑1389, except if there is not room on the envelope, the State Board may provide for that disclosure to be made on a separate piece of paper to be included along with the container‑return envelope.
The container‑return envelope shall be printed in accordance with the instructions of the State Board, which shall prohibit the display of the voter's party affiliation on the outside of the container‑return envelope."
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 1 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 1 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 1 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.
(d6)	Disclosure of Register of Absentee Ballot Requests. – Notwithstanding G.S. 132-3(a), any person who steals, releases, or possesses the official register of absentee requests for mail-in absentee ballots as provided in G.S. 163A-1306 prior to the opening of the voting place in accordance with G.S. 163A-1130, for a purpose other than the conduct of business at the county board of elections, shall be guilty of a Class G 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 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.
(4)	If the county board of elections opens one‑stop sites on Saturdays 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.