Numbered Memos | NCSBE

Overview

Numbered memos are issued by the State Board of Elections executive director. They provide guidance and updates about elections administration to the county boards of elections. Memos may concern updates to laws, preparations for upcoming elections and more.

Note: Numbered memos reflect the law at the time they are published and may not reflect current law.

Numbered Memo Search

Search for specific terms or filter numbered memos by change type or year from 2011 onward.

Numbered Memos by Year

Use the links below to jump to numbered memos on this page from a specific year.

2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011

The documents linked below were created as PDFs.

2024

2024-09 Hand-To-Eye Recount (Dec. 2, 2024)
2024-08 Statewide Recount (Nov. 15, 2024)
2024-07 Election Law Changes for the 2024 General Election in Response to Helene (Oct. 16, 2024)
2024-06 Absentee Ballot Distribution for the 2024 General Election (Sept. 13, 2024)
2024-05 Criminal History Record Checks for Employees of County Boards of Elections (Aug. 30, 2024)
2024-04 Absentee Ballot Signature Verification Pilot Program (May 1, 2024)
2024-03 Retention of Election Records (March 19, 2024)
2024-02 Second Primary Preparations (March 14, 2024)
2024-01 Use of Private Funds in Elections (Jan. 22, 2024)

2023

2023-07 Early Voting Official Appointment (Dec. 19, 2023)
2023-06 Election Observers (Dec. 13, 2023)
2023-05 Same-Day Registration (Dec. 8, 2023; updated Jan. 29, 2024)
2023-04 Provisional Ballots and Canvass Procedures (Oct. 12, 2023; updated Feb. 26, 2024)
2023-03 Photo ID (Sept. 14, 2023; updated Feb. 23, 2024; Oct. 11, 2024)
2023-02 Issuing Voter Photo ID Cards (Aug. 29, 2023; updated Aug. 28, 2024)
2023-01 Municipal Elections in 2023 (June 29, 2023)

2022

2022-15 Postmark Requirement for Mailed Civilian Absentee Ballots (Nov. 7, 2022; superseded by Session Law 2023-140 Oct. 10, 2023)
2022-14 Public Viewing of Opening and Closing Procedures (Oct. 18, 2022)
2022-13 Updated DHHS Guidance for Protecting Each Other from COVID-19 (Oct. 10, 2022)
2022-12 Maintaining Order at the Polls (Oct. 7, 2022; updated Feb. 14, 2024)
2022-11 Court Order Regarding Assistance for Absentee Voters with Disabilities (Aug. 29, 2022)
2022-10 Ballot Quantities in General Elections; Alerts for Casting Blank Ballots (Aug. 26, 2022)
2022-09 Absentee Ballot Return Deadline (Aug. 17, 2022)
2022-08 Authority for Remote Meetings (Aug. 17, 2022)
2022-07 Absentee Envelope Supply (July 20, 2022)
2022-06 Ballot Quantities for July 26 Election (June 3, 2022)
2022-05 County Board Challenges to Ineligible Absentee Ballots (May 12, 2022; updated Dec. 15, 2023)
2022-04 Voter Registration Deadline (April 26, 2022)
2022-03 DHHS Interim Guidance for Election Voting Locations and Responses to COVID-Related FAQs (March 23, 2022; rescinded Oct. 10, 2022)
2022-02 Ballot Quantities in Even-Year Primaries (March 16, 2022)
2022-01 Protecting Certain Voter and Elections Security Information (March 15, 2022; updated April 25, 2022)

2021

2021-09 Corrections to Party Affiliation Based on Incomplete DMV Online Transactions (Dec. 8, 2021)
2021-08 DHHS Interim Guidance for Election Voting Locations and COVID FAQs (Sept. 20, 2021; rescinded March 23, 2022)
2021-07 Deficiencies in Notary Portion of Absentee Application and Certificate (Aug. 31, 2021)
2021-06 Restoration of Voting Rights of Felons on Community Supervision (Aug. 23, 2021; superseded by N.C. Supreme Court order April 28, 2023)
2021-05 Ballot Quantities in Municipal Elections (Aug. 17, 2021)
2021-04 Municipal Elections (July 13, 2021)
2021-03 Absentee Container-Return Envelope Deficiencies (June 11, 2021; updated Sept. 25, 2023; Jan. 19, 2024)
2021-02 Retention of Elections Records (March 25, 2021; rescinded March 19, 2024)
2021-01 Procedures for Purchasing Voting Equipment (March 1, 2021; updated April 14, 2023; July 20, 2023)

2020

2020-32 Hand-to-Eye Recount (Dec. 4, 2020)
2020-31 Statewide Recount (Nov. 16, 2020; superseded by Numbered Memo 2024-08 Nov. 15, 2024)
2020-30 Conduct at the Polls (Oct. 9, 2020; updated Oct. 12, 2020; rescinded Feb. 14, 2024)
2020-29 Witness or Assistant Address Issues on the Absentee Container-Return Envelope (Oct. 4, 2020)
2020-28 Court Orders Regarding Numbered Memos (Oct. 4, 2020; rescinded Oct. 19, 2020)
2020-27 Court Order Regarding Witness Signature Deficiency (Oct. 1, 2020; rescinded Oct. 19, 2020)
2020-26 Restoration of Voting Rights of Certain Individuals on Extended Probation (Sept. 23, 2020; superseded by N.C. Supreme Court order April 28, 2023)
2020-25 Absentee Board Meetings (Sept. 22, 2020; updated Sept. 23, 2020; Sept. 18, 2023)
2020-24 Multipartisan Assistance Team FAQ and DHHS Guidance (Sept. 22, 2020)
2020-23 In-Person Return of Absentee Ballots (Sept. 22, 2020; updated Sept. 29, 2023)
2020-22 Deadline for Mailed Absentee Ballots (Sept. 22, 2020)
2020-21 Grant or In-Kind Donation Opportunities (Sept. 16, 2020; rescinded Jan. 22, 2024)
2020-20 Curbside Voting (Sept. 1, 2020)
2020-19 Absentee Container-Return Envelope Deficiencies (Aug. 21, 2020; updated Sept. 22, 2020; Oct. 17, 2020; rescinded June 11, 2021)
2020-18 DHHS Interim Guidance for Election Voting Locations (Aug. 14, 2020; updated Oct. 9, 2020; rescinded Sept. 20, 2021)
2020-17 Office Operations During Pandemic (Aug. 14, 2020)
2020-16 Ballot Quantities (Aug. 12, 2020; rescinded Aug. 26, 2022)
2020-15 Absentee Requests Forms (July 28, 2020)
2020-14 Emergency Order of July 17, 2020 (July 23, 2020)
2020-13 One-Stop Planning for the 2020 General Election (June 24, 2020)
2020-12 COVID-19 Response Planning for In-Person Voting for June 23, 2020 election (June 1, 2020)
2020-11 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response (March 15, 2020)
2020-10 Second Primary Preparations (March 11, 2020)
2020-09 Conduct at the Polls (Feb. 28, 2020; rescinded Feb. 14, 2024)
2020-08 One-Stop Closing Procedures and Voting Systems (Feb. 25, 2020)
2020-07 Deficiencies in Notary Portion of Absentee Container Return Envelope (Feb. 11, 2020; rescinded Aug. 31, 2021)
2020-06 Voter Instructions for Voting Systems (Feb. 7, 2020)
2020-05 Processing Requests for Party Change for Existing Registrants (Feb. 7, 2020)
2020-04 Inclement Weather Preparations (Jan. 29, 2020)
2020-03 Absentee Ballot Request Form Requirements (Jan. 15, 2020)
2020-02 Ballot Preparation Instructions (Jan. 9, 2020; rescinded March 16, 2022)
2020-01 Preliminary Injunction of Photo ID (Jan. 3, 2020; superseded by reversed preliminary injunction Dec. 2, 2020)

2019

2019-08 Photo ID Implementation Preparations (Nov. 8, 2019)
2019-07 Guidance Regarding What Constitutes a Vote (Nov. 1, 2019)
2019-06 Minimum Number of Ballots for Municipal Elections (Sept. 23, 2019; rescinded Aug. 17, 2021)
2019-05 Emergency Preparations for Hurricane Dorian (Sept. 3, 2019)
2019-04 Voting Systems Certification Procedures (Aug. 27, 2019)
2019-03 Municipal Elections (July 19, 2019)
2019-02 Absentee Witness Certification (April 3, 2019)
2019-01 Response to Subpoenas Issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina (Feb. 6, 2019)

2018

2018-15 Security at the Polls (Oct. 26, 2018; rescinded Feb. 14, 2024)
2018-14 Voting Site Setup, Voter Challenges, and New Rules (Oct. 15, 2018)
2018-13 Incident Reporting Directive (Oct. 5, 2018)
2018-12 Security Preparations (Oct. 2, 2018)
2018-11 Hurricane Preparations (Sept. 11, 2018)
2018-10 Minimum Number of Ballots for 2018 Mid-Term General Election (Sept. 7, 2018)
2018-09 Preservation of Documents from 2016 General Election and Ballot Secrecy (Sept. 7, 2018)
2018-08 Election Preparation (Sept. 5, 2018)
2018-07 Court Order Affecting Voter Challenges (Aug. 8, 2018; updated Nov. 5, 2018; April 12, 2023)
2018-06 One-Stop Early Voting for November 2018 General Election (July 6, 2018)
2018-05 Canvass Procedures and Provisional Ballots (May 17, 2018; rescinded Oct. 12, 2023)
2018-04 Absentee Witness Certification and 2016 Election Records Retention (April 20, 2018)
2018-03 New County Boards and the Upcoming Primary (April 17, 2018)
2018-02 March 27th State Board Meeting (March 28, 2018)
2018-01 Candidate Filing Reminders (Feb. 9, 2018)

2017

2017-07 URGENT: Post-Primary/Election Instructions (Oct. 11, 2017)
2017-06 Emergency Preparedness for Hurricane Season (Sept. 7, 2017)
2017-05 Minimum Number of Ballots for Municipal Elections (Aug. 18, 2017)
2017-04 Canvass Dates for 2017 Municipal Elections (Aug. 3, 2017)
2017-03 One-Stop Implementation Plans, 2017 Municipal Election (July 26, 2017)
2017-02 Actions taken by County Boards of Elections (July 7, 2017)
2017-01 Municipal Election Schedule (July 5, 2017)

2016

2016-28 Planning for a Statewide Recount (Dec. 2, 2016)
2016-27 Deadlines for Canvass and Mandatory Recounts (Nov. 21, 2016)
2016-26 Election Protests (Nov. 18, 2016)
2016-25 Voter Signatures & Provisional Supplementation (Nov. 16, 2016)
2016-24 Requests for Information Process (Nov. 12, 2016)
2016-23 URGENT: Court-ordered Residency Challenge Procedures (Nov. 4, 2016)
2016-22 URGENT: Court Order regarding DMV Transactions (Nov. 1, 2016)
2016-21 Voter Registration Processing and Election Observer Requirements (Oct. 19, 2016; rescinded Dec. 13, 2023)
2016-20 Conduct at the Polls (Oct. 19, 2016; rescinded Feb. 14, 2024)
2016-19 Hurricane Matthew Response (Oct. 12, 2016)
2016-18 Processing in-county updates from DMV (Oct. 4, 2016)
2016-17 Polling Site Preparation (Sept. 29, 2016)
2016-16 Voter Assistance (Sept. 26, 2016)
2016-15 Same-day Registration during One-Stop Early Voting (Sept. 22, 2016; rescinded Dec. 8, 2023)
2016-14 URGENT: Secure Elections (Sept. 12, 2016)
2016-13 Retention of records related to previous elections (Sept. 12, 2016)
2016-12 Deadlines for One-stop Early Voting Plans (Aug. 16, 2016)
2016-11 One-stop Early Voting in November 2016 General Election (Aug. 4, 2016)
2016-10 URGENT: Provisional Research and Uniform Disposition (June 6, 2016; rescinded Oct. 12, 2023)
2016-09 URGENT: Canvass Procedures (June 6, 2016; updated June 7, 2016; rescinded Oct. 12, 2023)
2016-08 Temporary Order 2016-01 (April 12, 2016)
2016-07 One-stop Implementation Plans, June 7 Primary and November 8, 2016 General Election (March 29, 2016)
2016-06 URGENT: Budget Requests (March 30, 2016)
2016-05 Post-Election Processes (March 16, 2016)
2016-04 Final Preparations (March 11, 2016)
2016-03 Information regarding the March 15 and June 7 Primaries (Feb. 26, 2016)
2016-02 Voter Registration Deadline Guidelines (Feb. 19, 2016; rescinded April 26, 2022)
2016-01 Reasonable Impediment Challenge Procedures (Feb. 10, 2016)

2015

2015-08 2016 Kickoff (Dec. 1, 2015)
2015-07 One-stop voting for the 2016 Primary (Nov. 3, 2015)
2015-06 Emergency Preparedness (Oct. 1, 2015)
2015-05 2016 Primary Election (Oct. 1, 2015)
2015-04 Voter Education during the Municipal Elections (Sept. 4, 2015; superseded by Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals order July 29, 2016)
2015-03 Cross-County Municipal Elections (Aug. 18, 2015)
2015-02 One-stop Implementation Plans, 2015 Municipal Elections (May 22, 2015)
2015-01 Planning for 2015 … and 2016 (Jan. 16, 2015)

2014

2014-11 Instructions for statewide machine recount and other recounts (Nov. 17, 2014)
2014-10 DMV Will Now offer Voter Registration Services to All 17‐year‐olds (June 30, 2014)
2014-09 Handling Unreported Moves and Out of Precinct Voters (May 28, 2014)
2014-08 One-stop voting for the 2014 General Election (June 10, 2014)
2014-07 Emergency plans (April 28, 2014)
2014-06 Retention of 2012 Elections Records (April 8, 2014)
2014-05 Handling Unreported Moves and Out of Precinct Voters (April 3, 2014)
2014-04 Multipartisan Assistance Teams and the May 2014 Primary (March 13, 2014)
2014-03 2014 Candidate Filing Information (Jan. 28, 2014)
2014-02 May 2014 Primary One-Stop Hours Reduction Requests (Jan. 10, 2014)
2014-01 One-stop Implementation Plans: May 2014 Primary (Jan. 7, 2014)

2013

2013-05 One-stop early voting in the 2014 primary and Session Law 2013-381’s hours-matching requirement (Oct. 17, 2013)
2013-04 Prominent Statement on SBOE Forms and 2013 Municipal Elections (Sept. 17, 2013)
2013-03 UOCAVA Deadline for 2013 November Municipal Election (Sept. 5, 2013)
2013-02 Repeal of Preregistration (Sept. 3, 2013)
2013-01 One-Stop Voting Implementation Plans for the 2013 General Election (July 11, 2013)

2012

2012-30 Second Recount, Hand-to-Eye in Sample Precincts (Nov. 28, 2012)
2012-29 Recounts (Nov. 16, 2012)
2012-28 Unverified Registrations (Nov. 14, 2012; superseded May 12, 2022.)
2012-27 Voter Assistance (Oct. 30, 2012)
2012-26 Maintaining Order at Voting Sites and Reports of Other Illegal Activity (Oct. 29, 2012)
2012-25 Emergency Preparedness for Hurricane Sandy (Oct. 26, 2012)
2012-24 Procedures for One‐stop Voting and Election Day (Oct. 24, 2012)
2012-23 2012 One-stop Voting Process (Oct. 23, 2012)
2012-22 Recommendations and Reminders to Facilitate the 2012 One-stop Voting Process (Oct. 22, 2012)
2012-21 Procedures for Counting Electronically Transmitted UOCAVA Ballots (Oct. 11, 2012)
2012-20 Proof of Residency for Same Day Registrants (Aug. 28, 2012; rescinded Dec. 8, 2023)
2012-19 Citizens Voter Registration Awareness Month (Aug. 20, 2012)
2012-18 Handling Applications with Americans Elect as the Party Choice (July 9, 2012)
2012-17 One-Stop Voting Implementation Plans for the 2012 General Election (June 19, 2012)
2012-16 Voting systems hardware and software agreements (May 18, 2012)
2012-15 Requests for Recounts (May 17, 2012)
2012-14 Voter Registration and Voting Process for Second Primaries (May 14, 2012)
2012-13 Proper Procedures for In-person Registrations and Absentee Voting (May 10, 2012)
2012-12 Proper Procedures for In‐person Registrations and Absentee Voting (May 3, 2012)
2012-11 Instructions to Precinct Officials on use of Non‐Voting Systems Incident Report for Voter Assignment Issues (April 23, 2012)
2012-10 Non‐voting Systems Incident Reports (April 18, 2012)
2012-09 2012 Polling Place Accessibility Surveys (April 10, 2012)
2012-08 2012 Wellness Check (April 10, 2012)
2012-07 Civilian Absentee Ballot Instructions (March 28, 2012)
2012-06 Civilian Absentee Ballot Instructions (March 16, 2012)
2012-05 Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission explanation of the proposed constitutional amendment on the May ballot (March 12, 2012)
2012-04 Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) Requirements (Feb. 17, 2012)
2012-03 One-Stop Voting Implementation Plans for the 2012 Primary (Feb. 10, 2012)
2012-02 Candidate Order and Statewide Referendum for 2012 Primary Elections (Feb. 1, 2012)
2012-01 Military‐Overseas Absentee Voting Process Changes (UMOVA Update) (Jan. 23, 2012)

2011

2011-05 Procedures for Handling Redistricting Changes in SEIMS (Dec. 22, 2011)
2011-04 Citizens Voter Registration Awareness Month (Aug. 17, 2011)
2011-03 County Boards of Elections Members (June 29, 2011)
2011-02 County Boards Must Scan All Legacy Voter Registration Documents (May 11, 2011)
2011-01 Local Redistricting (Jan. 6, 2011)

Access downloadable PDFs from 1997 in the NCSBE public files folder: Numbered Memos.

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