Uncategorized – McDowell County Board of Elections

Raleigh, N.C. — The following is a statement from the State Board of Elections regarding social media posts and other communications suggesting that if an election worker writes on your ballot, it would invalidate it.

In North Carolina, this is false. These posts have been circulating for years and have resurfaced recently in many N.C. counties. They are still false.

Election workers often do write on ballots for different reasons as required by law.

For example, election workers write an identifying number on the ballots of voters who vote by mail or during the in-person early voting period. This is a special number assigned to each ballot and voter. This number allows the ballot to be retrieved and not counted if necessary due to a voter challenge, such as if the voter dies before Election Day or votes more than once. See N.C.G.S. § 163-166.45.

The number can also be used to retrieve ballots in the event of a successful election protest, such as if several voters are given the wrong ballot style and the margin for a contest is less than that number of voters.

In certain counties, voters’ precincts also must be written on ballots cast during the early voting period so they can be sorted back into the proper precincts after the election for reporting and data purposes, also as required by law. See N.C.G.S. § 163-132.5G. Early voters may cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county, thus creating the need to sort ballots by precinct after each election.

Election Day ballots are not retrievable and will not have writing on them unless they are provisional ballots, in which case they may be marked with a “P”.

Poll workers should generally not be placing any other markings on the ballot. But stray marks on a ballot should not prevent the ballot from being tabulated, as long as the bars on the margin of the ballot and the selection ovals are not affected. Once the ballot goes into the tabulator, the machine uses the bars and the shading of ovals to determine the selections on that ballot, and that ballot will be tabulated just like any other ballot that gets inserted into the tabulator, regardless of any writing in the white space of the ballot.

The 2024 general election is 95 days away on November 5. The first absentee ballots are expected to be sent out on September 6. In-person early voting runs from October 17 through November 2.

For accurate information about NC elections, go to NCSBE.gov or contact McDowell County Board of Elections at 828-659-0834.

Notice About Photo ID Requirement for Voting

Voters will now be asked to present a valid photo identification when voting in person. If you do not have a valid photo ID card, you may obtain one from your county board of elections prior to the election, through the end of the early voting period.

If you do not have a valid photo ID card on Election Day, you may still vote and have your vote counted by signing an affidavit of reasonable impediment (or “Photo ID Exception Form”) as to why you have not presented a valid photo ID. The Exception Form can also be used if you have a religious objection to being photographed or are a victim of a recently declared natural disaster.

As an alternative, if you don’t have your ID when you vote, you can still vote and then bring your valid photo ID to your county board of elections by noon on the third business day after Election Day.

If you vote by mail, except for military and overseas citizen voters, then you must include a photocopy of a valid photo ID when returning your ballot. You may also complete the Absentee Photo ID Exception Form that is provided with your absentee ballot materials.

A list of all types of ID that can be used for voting is available on the State Board of Elections Voter ID webpage. For information on how to get a free ID, see Get a Free Voter Photo ID.