The State Board of Elections invites members of the public to comment on the State Board’s initial determination that nearly 30 existing administrative rules are still necessary.
At a meeting on Thursday, the State Board made an initial determination that all 29 rules are necessary. Now, citizens may comment on the agency’s initial determination.
The comment period begins Monday, Sept. 21, and ends on Wednesday, November 25, 2026.
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 other than an unnecessary rule.”
Links to the text of the 29 election rules under review are available at Rulemaking on the State Board’s website. They pertain to various aspects of elections administration, including absentee voting, photo identification, election observers, campaign finance, and multipartisan assistance teams, or MATs.
“Administrative rules are necessary to ensure 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 rules remain necessary.”
How to Comment
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 November 25:
- Online: Public Comment Portal: 2026 Periodic Review of Existing Rules (portal opens Sept. 21)
- 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.)
Public comments should be directed to the State Board of Elections Rulemaking Coordinator. “Public comment” is defined by G.S. 150B-21.3A(a)(5) as “written comments objecting to the rule, in whole or in part, or objecting to an agency's determination of the rule as necessary or unnecessary.” Additionally, pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A(c)(2), in order for the Rules Review Commission to determine whether the public comment has merit, the public comment must address the specific substance of the rule and address any of the standards of Commission review, as set forth in N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.9(a).
Next Steps
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 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21 of Title 08 of the Administrative Code. The RRC will review the determinations on these rules in February 2027.