The State Board of Elections is again responding to social media posts that state that if an election worker writes on a voter’s ballot, it will invalidate it and the voter should request a new ballot.
This is false. These posts have been circulating for several years and have resurfaced recently in many N.C. counties. They are still false.
Election officials encourage North Carolinians not to spread this or other false information about elections.
Why do election officials write on ballots?
Election workers write on ballots for different reasons as required by law. This in no way affects whether your ballot will be counted.
For example, election workers may write a number on ballots of by-mail or early voters. This is a special number assigned to each ballot and voter. It allows election officials to retrieve and not count a ballot if necessary. This could be due to a voter challenge, such as if the voter dies before Election Day or votes more than once. See Retrievable ballots (N.C.G.S. § 163-166.45).
During the early voting period in some counties, election workers write the voters' precincts on ballots. This allows officials to sort ballots back into the proper precincts after the election for reporting and data purposes, also as required by law. See Voting data maintained by precinct (N.C.G.S. § 163-132.5G). Early voters may cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county, creating the need to sort ballots by precinct after the election.
Ballots cast on Election Day are not retrievable. However, poll workers may need to write the precinct name on ballots for post-election sorting. They may also write notations on provisional ballots.
In most counties, election workers write a “P” for provisional or “A” for absentee in the box in the upper left corner of the ballot. This helps election workers identify absentee or provisional ballots inadvertently inserted into a tabulator. Absentee and provisional ballots must be sealed in envelopes and be approved by the county board of elections before they are counted.
Stray marks on a ballot do not prevent the ballot from being counted, as long as the bars on the margins of the ballot and the selection ovals are not affected. Tabulators use the bars and the shading of ovals to determine the selections on that ballot.
For accurate information about N.C. elections, go to ncsbe.gov or contact your county board of elections.