The State Board of Elections invites members of the public to comment on the State Board’s initial determination that 38 existing administrative rules are necessary.
The comment period — which begins Monday, Aug. 11 and ends on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 — is part of a required review every 10 years to determine whether each rule under review is necessary.
Under Periodic review and expiration of existing rules (N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3A), state agencies must review their rules every 10 years and decide if those rules are necessary or unnecessary. A rule is unnecessary if it is “obsolete, redundant, or otherwise not needed.” A necessary rule is any rule that does not fit the definition of an unnecessary rule.
Links to the text of each of the 38 election rules under review are available at Rulemaking on the State Board’s website.
Members of the public may comment on the State Board’s initial determination that the rules are necessary in any of the following ways through Oct. 17, 2025:
- Online: Public Comment Portal: 2025 Periodic Review of Existing Rules
- Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov (Commenter must identify the specific rule being commented on.)
- Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 (Commenter must identify the specific rule being commented on.)
“Administrative rules are extremely important in ensuring that North Carolina’s elections are accessible, secure, and conducted uniformly across the state,” said Sam Hayes, State Board executive director. “We invite the public’s comments on the State Board’s initial determination that these 38 rules remain necessary.”
At a meeting in early August, the State Board made an initial determination that all 38 rules are necessary. Now, citizens may comment on the agency’s initial determination.
After the public comment period, the agency will review the comments and prepare a brief response to each comment. The State Board will then take a final vote on whether the rules are necessary and submit a report to the Rules Review Commission (RRC).
Ultimately, the RRC will prepare a final report on the necessity of the rules and submit it to the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee. Any rules determined to be necessary will go through a readoption process. Rules may be amended as part of the readoption process. Rules determined to be unnecessary will be removed from the administrative code.
The State Board’s rules subject to periodic review this year are in Chapters 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 09, and 10 of Title 08 of the Administrative Code. The RRC is expected to review these rules at its December 2025 meeting.