Mythbuster Archive

Listen to Reality, Not Rumors

The State Board of Elections started “Mythbuster Monday,” a social media series focused on debunking popular myths in North Carolina elections and elections at large. Misinformation can lead to confusion and damage the public’s trust in elections. Through these posts, we aim to educate the public and serve as a trusted source of election information.

We will update this page as new posts are published. To view these and much more, follow the State Board on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Have a question you’d like answered or a myth you want to be debunked? Email the State Board at misinformation@ncsbe.gov. For more regarding the effort to stop the spread of mis- and disinformation, visit Combating Misinformation.

2022 Mythbusters

Reality: In North Carolina, provisional voters receive a Provisional Identification Number (PIN). The voter can use this, along with their date of birth, to check their ballot status.

Rumor: Once you cast a provisional ballot, there’s no way to track it.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 3, 2022.

Reality: North Carolina National Guard and State Board cybersecurity teams investigated the claims, determining they were false and likely fabricated.

Rumor: Bad actors infiltrated county boards of elections’ networks and changed votes in 2020.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 10, 2022.

Reality: Under the U.S. Constitution, as long as they reside in North Carolina, candidates for U.S. House can run in any of the 14 congressional districts.

Rumor: U.S. House candidates must live in the district they wish to represent.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 24, 2022.

Reality: In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters may choose the Democratic, Libertarian, Republican, or nonpartisan ballot (if available) in a primary election.

Rumor: Unaffiliated voters can’t vote in a partisan primary.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 31, 2022.

Reality: The State Board investigated 358 cases between the 2020 and 2021 elections, and referred 61 cases to district attorneys across North Carolina.

View more data related to the fact above at Investigations Division.

Rumor: Election irregularities are not investigated.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 7, 2022.

Reality: In North Carolina, absentee ballots require two witnesses, which was reduced to one for the 2020 general election only — because of the pandemic.

Rumor: Absentee-by-mail voters didn’t need a witness in 2020.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 28, 2022.

Reality: On Election Day in North Carolina, any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote.

Find more information about the fact above at Vote in Person on Election Day.

Rumor: I can’t vote if it is close to when polls close and the line is too long.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 14, 2022.

Reality: Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of voted ballots are confidential in North Carolina. Releasing them would be a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Rumor: North Carolina elections officials can release “cast vote records” as some other states do.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 21, 2022.

Reality: North Carolina registrants weren’t required to provide a birth date until the 1990s. As a result, election officials would issue a temporary placeholder when birth date was unknown (1/1/1900 or 1/1/1901).

Rumor: Votes are fraudulently being cast by 121+year-olds.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 4, 2022.

Reality: If someone has voted an absentee ballot and then shows up to vote in person, the check-in system will alert the poll worker that the person has already voted.

Rumor: Someone could vote twice by voting an absentee ballot and then voting in person.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 11, 2022.

Reality: Under state law, ballot drop boxes are not permitted nor have they ever been used for absentee-by-mail voting in North Carolina. Other states do use drop boxes.

Rumor: Ballot drop boxes were used in North Carolina’s 2020 general election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 18, 2022.

Reality: North Carolina voting equipment does not contain modem chips, and state law prohibits voting machines from being connected wirelessly to any other device.

Rumor: There is a “chip” in the motherboard of voting equipment in North Carolina that allows for a remote connection to the equipment.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 25, 2022.

Reality: NC election officials always count some absentee and provisional votes during the canvass period after Election Day -- and must by law.

Rumor: Counting should stop on election night.

Adapted from NCSBE's Twitter post May 2, 2022.

Reality: It's impossible for a dead person to mark a ballot, and we have no evidence of widespread or coordinated efforts to vote in the names of deceased voters. That's a felony, by the way.

Rumor: Dead people are voting!

Adapted from NCSBE's Twitter post May 9, 2022.

Reality: Ballot drop boxes are not permitted nor have they ever been used for absentee-by-mail voting in North Carolina. Other states do use drop boxes.

Rumor: Drop boxes were used in NC in 2020.

2021 Mythbusters

Reality: As soon as you put your ballot in the tabulator, your vote was counted. The uploading of voter history data can take weeks.

Your county board of elections must upload information about all voters who participated in the election before assigning your voter history. This may take up to a few weeks after Election Day.

Rumor: My Election Day vote didn’t count because it’s not showing up on my voter history.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 4, 2021.

Reality: Provisional ballots and absentee ballots received after Election Day but postmarked by Election Day may be added later.

Rumor: If election night results change over the ensuing days, the process is hacked or compromised, so I can’t trust the results.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 25, 2021.

Reality: Your vote does matter. Elections are decided by those who show up. Municipal elections, which can be decided by one vote, take place this fall throughout North Carolina.

Rumor: My vote doesn’t matter.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 1, 2021.

Reality: North Carolina registrants weren’t required to provide their date of birth until the 1990s. As a result, election officials would issue a temporary placeholder when the birth date was unknown (1/1/1900 or 1/1/1901).

Rumor: Votes are fraudulently being cast by 120-year-olds.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 8, 2021.

Reality: Election night, vote counting stops when there are no more votes to count. By-mail ballots that arrive after Election Day and provisional ballots are counted over the next few days.

Rumor: Counting stops on election night when the results are disliked.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 1, 2021.

Reality: The Investigations Division at the State Board investigates potential election law violations and refers cases to prosecutors when warranted by evidence.

Rumor: There’s no way to detect or investigate voter fraud.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 8, 2021.

Reality: You can only file for one office for an election.

For more information about the fact above, visit General Candidate Requirements.

Rumor: You can file for more than one office for a single election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 15, 2021.

Reality: When you are convicted of a misdemeanor in North Carolina, you do not lose your right to vote, even if you are incarcerated. Incarcerated voters who committed a misdemeanor may cast an absentee ballot.

Rumor: If you are arrested for a misdemeanor, you lose your right to vote.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 22, 2021.

Reality: Under state law, voting equipment may not be connected to the internet or use wireless access, limiting the possibility of outside interference.

Learn more about North Carolina’s voting systems at Voting Equipment.

Rumor: Voting systems are vulnerable and easy to hack.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 29, 2021.

Reality: By North Carolina law, in-person early voting is “absentee” voting, as you voted “absent” of Election Day.

Rumor: I voted early in person, but it’s wrongly showing up as absentee on my voter record.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 5, 2021.

Reality: If you leave a contest blank on your ballot, a vote will not be recorded for that contest ONLY.

Rumor: If I don’t vote in each contest, my ballot won’t be counted.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 12, 2021.

Reality: Boards of elections work year-round — prepping for the next election, maintaining voter rolls, helping voters, securing polling places, training poll workers and more.

Rumor: Boards of elections only work during election season.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 19, 2021.

Reality: North Carolina officials have no evidence of widespread fraud in elections. The State Board Investigations Division investigates alleged violations and refers them to the proper authorities if warranted by evidence.

Rumor: Voter fraud is rampant in North Carolina.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 10, 2021.

Reality: College students have options for where they can register and vote.

Learn more about the fact above at Registering as a College Student.

Rumor: College students have to vote in their home state or town.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 17, 2021.

Reality: Even if you move within the same county, you should re-register to update your address.

Learn more about the fact above at Updating Registration.

Rumor: I don’t need to update my registration because I only moved across town, but remained in the same county.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 24, 2021.

Reality: By state law, voting machines may not be connected to the internet, limiting the possibility of cyber interference.

Rumor: North Carolina’s voting machines are connected to the internet.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 7, 2021.

Reality: Absentee-by-mail voting does not inherently favor one party. Each voter has the same opportunity to vote by mail. Any eligible North Carolina voter may vote by mail.

Rumor: Absentee-by-mail voting favors one political party more than another.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 14, 2021.

Reality: Unaffiliated voters may participate in a party primary if it is an open primary. Participating in the primary will not change your unaffiliated status.

Rumor: If I’m unaffiliated, participating in a primary will change my registration status.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 21, 2021.

Reality: County boards of elections purchase the voting equipment of their choice with the approval of county commissioners. Counties are not forced to choose a certain brand.

Rumor: The State Board contracts with voting system vendors.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 28, 2021.

Reality: Different parties routinely win statewide races in the same year in North Carolina. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won the presidential race, but Democrat Roy Cooper won the governor’s race.

Rumor: Democrats and Republicans can’t win statewide elections in the same year.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 5, 2021.

Reality: State law allows the State Board to extend voting hours at sites where voting is interrupted for at least 15 minutes on Election Day. It's fairly common.

Rumor: Extending voting hours past 7:30 p.m. is illegal.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 12, 2021.

Reality: To certify election results, some military, provisional, and absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day are counted after Election Day.

Rumor: Results are determined on Election Day.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 19, 2021.

Reality: All provisional ballots found to be eligible are counted for every contest.

Rumor: Provisional ballots are only counted in close contests.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 26, 2021.

Reality: Election officials conducted a series of audits of the 2020 general election and found no evidence of fraud.

For more information about the fact above, visit 2020 election certification.

Rumor: No audit has been conducted of the 2020 election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 2, 2021.

Reality: 91 counties are holding elections for one or more municipalities this year. Other municipal elections are delayed until 2022 to allow for redistricting.

Rumor: Every municipality is having an election in 2021.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 9, 2021.

Reality: Municipal elections give voters the chance to elect local officials who make important decisions that affect their community, friends, and family.

Rumor: Municipal elections don't matter.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 16, 2021.

Reality: Provisional ballots, as well as eligible absentee ballots received after Election Day, are added to results post-election.

Rumor: If election night results change in the following days, the process must be compromised, so I can’t trust the results.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 23, 2021.

Reality: Your vote does matter. Elections are decided by those who show up. Municipal elections, which can be decided by one vote, take place this fall throughout North Carolina.

Rumor: My vote doesn’t matter.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 30, 2021.

Reality: If your county/municipality offers early voting, you can register to vote and vote through same-day registration during the early voting period.

Rumor: If I miss the voter registration deadline, I can't vote in the upcoming election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Sept. 6, 2021.

Reality: Each voter has an assigned precinct on Election Day.

Per the fact above, you can find your polling place using the Voter Search.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Sept. 13, 2021.

Reality: When you move within your county, you should complete a change of address.

Are you a registered voter that recently moved? Visit Updating Your Registration.

Rumor: If I move within my county, I don't need to update my registration.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Sept. 20, 2021.

Reality: There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 general election.

Learn more about the fact above at 2020 Election Certification.

Rumor: Voter fraud was abundant in North Carolina during the 2020 election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Sept. 27, 2021.

Reality: To register, you must have resided in that municipality or county for at least 30 days before the election.

Rumor: If I own a property in or pay property tax to a municipality or county, I can register to vote there without establishing it as my permanent residence.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Oct. 4, 2021.

Reality: To produce a paper trail that can be recounted and audited, all North Carolina voting systems use paper ballots, marked either by hand or with a ballot-marking device.

Rumor: There’s no way to prove North Carolina voting systems tabulated voters’ choices correctly.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Oct. 11, 2021.

Reality: Media, political parties and candidates sometimes “call” winners on election night. Election officials never “call” winners, but rather certify results after all ballots are counted, audits conducted, etc.

Rumor: The State Board “calls” elections.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Oct.18, 2021.

Reality: In the U.S. all votes are counted, regardless of method — no matter how close the race.

Rumor: Absentee votes are only counted if a race is close.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Nov. 1, 2021.

Reality: There is no evidence of any manipulation of North Carolina elections systems. Security precautions are in place, and audits and recounts demonstrate accurate results.

Rumor: The election management system is easily manipulated.