Rulemaking

Under Powers and duties of State Board of Elections (N.C.G.S. § 163-22), the State Board of Elections has general supervision over the primaries and elections in North Carolina. It also may make rules regarding elections and campaign finance provided they do not contradict the law. When rules are proposed, a public comment period and a public hearing about the rule takes place.

The Rules Review Commission reviews rules that the State Board adopts for compliance with the requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 150B of the N.C. General Statutes). For more about the Rules Review Commission, including a list of date of their upcoming meetings, visit N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings (NCOAH).

Two ways to be added to the list of interested parties for rule-making conducted by the State Board of Elections:

  1. Email: legal@ncsbe.gov
  2. Mail: P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255

Rules in Progress

Click the links below to navigate the proposed rules and related comment periods detailed on this page.

Absentee Voting Rules

The State Board of Elections, at its meeting on July 20, 2026, adopted several proposed rules to govern how county boards of elections should proceed when a deficiency with a returned absentee ballot is identified by county board staff. These new rules will provide appropriate safeguards in the implementation of state laws regarding the completion of absentee applications and submission of absentee ballots. They have been sent to the Rules Review Commission for consideration and final approval, which is expected to be at the Rules Review Commission’s August 27 meeting.

Read the Notice of Text from when the rules were originally proposed.

The public comment period for these rules is closed. It ran from May 15, 2026, through July 16, 2026. The in-person public comment hearings were held on June 22, 2026 and July 16, 2026, at the State Board office. 

Access the text of the rules that were adopted after the public comment period, the recordings of the public hearings, and the written comments.

 

Photo ID Rules

The State Board of Elections, at its meeting on July 16, 2026, adopted proposed amendments to rules pertaining to the photo identification requirement for in-person and absentee voting. The rules will make technical changes to the language of the rules and refinements to the processes involved. They have been sent to the Rules Review Commission for consideration and final approval, which is expected to be at the Rules Review Commission’s August 27 meeting.

Read the Notice of Text from when the rules were originally proposed.

The public comment period for these rules is closed. It ran from May 15, 2026, through July 14, 2026. The in-person public comment hearing was held on June 9, 2026, at the State Board's office: Access the text of the rules that were adopted after the public comment period, the recording of the public hearing, and the written comments.

 

Recount Rules

The State Board of Elections, at its meeting on July 16, 2026, adopted amendments to three existing rules guiding the conduct of recounts following an election.  The amendments were proposed to refine processes involved in conducting discretionary and mandatory recounts. They have been sent to the Rules Review Commission for consideration and final approval, which is expected to be at the Rules Review Commission’s August 27 meeting.

Read the Notice of Text from when the rules were originally proposed.

The public comment period for these rules is closed. It ran from May 15, 2026, through July 14, 2026. The in-person public comment hearing was held on June 8, 2026, at the State Board's office.  Access the text of the rules that were adopted after the public comment period, the recording of the public hearing, and the written comments.

 

Voting Site Rules

The State Board of Elections, at its meeting on July 16, 2026, adopted a series of new rules being proposed to guide how county boards of elections establish buffer zones, electioneering zones, and curbside voting areas, and how elections officials maintain peace and good order at voting sites.  

They have been sent to the Rules Review Commission for consideration and final approval, which is expected to be at the Rules Review Commission’s August 27 meeting.

Read the Notice of Text from when the rules were originally proposed.

The public comment period for these rules is closed. It ran from May 15, 2026, through July 14, 2026. The in-person public comment hearing was held on June 29, 2026, at the State Board's office. Access the text of the rules that were adopted after the public comment period, the recording of the public hearing, and the written comments.

 

Campaign Finance Complaints and Investigations Rules

The State Board of Elections invites the public to comment on a series of proposed rules directing the process to be followed when the State Board receives a signed and sworn campaign finance complaint from a registered voter. Under N.C.G.S. § 163-278.22(7), it is the duty and power of the State Board to investigate potential violations of Article 22A and Article 22M of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.

The proposed rules are ultimately intended to replace the Campaign Finance Complaint Policy adopted by the State Board in 2019. Read the Notice of Text.

The following proposed rules are included in this public comment period:

How to Comment

Members of the public may comment on the proposed Campaign Finance Complaints and Investigations Rules in any of the following ways from July 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2026:

Once the comment period closes and prior to taking final action on the rules, the State Board will review public comments and consider revisions to the proposed rules in response to those comments. After rules are adopted, they are then submitted to the Rules Review Commission for final approval before they become effective.

 

Building Fund Rules

The State Board of Elections invites the public to comment on a series of proposed rules to outline the reporting requirements for building funds. N.C.G.S. § 163-278.19B permits a political party executive committee or affiliated party committee to establish and operate a headquarters building fund. The proposed rules require a building fund to register as a separate political committee for reporting purposes and for the contents of reports to follow N.C.G.S. § 163-278.11. Read the Notice of Text. 

The following proposed rules are included in this public comment period:

How to Comment

Members of the public may comment on the proposed Building Funds Rules in any of the following ways from July 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2026:

Once the comment period closes and prior to taking final action on the rules, the State Board will review public comments and consider revisions to the proposed rules in response to those comments. After rules are adopted, they are then submitted to the Rules Review Commission for final approval before they become effective.

 

Threshold Rule Amendment

The State Board of Elections invites the public to comment on a proposed amendment to a rule regarding when a committee must file a new certification of threshold if the committee intends to stay under the threshold for a subsequent election cycle. 

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 163-278.10A, candidate committees for county office, municipal office, local school board, and soil and water conservation district, as well political party committees, may be exempt from filing campaign finance disclosure reports if the committee determines that it does not intend to receive in contributions or in loans or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle. Read the Notice of Text.

The following proposed rule amendment is included in this public comment period: 

08 NCAC 21 .0203 Certification of Threshold would change the deadline for filing a certification from January 31 to March 31.

How to Comment

Members of the public may comment on the proposed Threshold Rule Amendment in any of the following ways from July 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2026:

Once the comment period closes and prior to taking final action on the rules, the State Board will review public comments and consider revisions to the proposed rules in response to those comments. After rules are adopted, they are then submitted to the Rules Review Commission for final approval before they become effective.

 

Waiver Rule Amendment

The State Board of Elections invites the public to comment on a proposed amendment to a rule regarding waivers of civil penalties for late campaign finance disclosure reports. Late reports may be waived in whole or in part for good cause. See N.C.G.S. § 163-278.34(d). Read the Notice of Text.

The following proposed rule amendment is included in this public comment period: 

  • The amendment to 08 NCAC 21 .0206 Requesting a Waiver of a Civil Late Penalty delegates authority to State Board of Elections staff to grant a good cause waiver of a civil penalty assessment issued under G.S. 163-278.34(a) if a condition described in the rule is met. The proposed rule amendment further clarifies that all remaining waiver requests shall be presented to the State Board for a final determination.

How to Comment

Members of the public may comment on the proposed Threshold Rule Amendment in any of the following ways from July 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2026:

Once the comment period closes and prior to taking final action on the rules, the State Board will review public comments and consider revisions to the proposed rules in response to those comments. After rules are adopted, they are then submitted to the Rules Review Commission for final approval before they become effective.

 

List Maintenance Rules

The State Board of Elections has adopted a series of permanent rules related to voter roll list maintenance on the basis of non-citizenship. These rules would be in a new chapter of Title 8 of the Administrative Code. 

The adopted rules were approved by the Rules Review Commission at its meeting on May 28, 2026. Read the final rules that were approved by the Rules Review Commission. However, the rules currently are not in effect. They are subject to legislative review under the process in N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3.

The public comment period for these rules is closed. It ran from January 15, 2026, through March 16, 2026. The in-person public comment hearing was held on March 9, 2026, at the State Board's office. Access the text of the rules that were adopted after the public comment period, the recording of the public hearing, and the written comments.

Periodic Review of Existing Rules

Under N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3A, state agencies must review their rules every 10 years and decide if those rules are necessary. An “unnecessary rule” is defined as “a rule that the agency determines to be obsolete, redundant, or otherwise not needed.” N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3A(a)(6). A “necessary rule” is “any rule other than an unnecessary rule.” N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3A(a)(2a).

The State Board has 38 rules that were subject to periodic review in 2025, and the agency has determined that each of the rules is necessary. The State Board’s rules subject to periodic review in 2025 are in Chapters 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 09, and 10 of Title 08 of the Administrative Code. Rules in these chapters that were adopted after Jan. 1, 2024, and not in the Administrative Code by that date, are not part of this review.

The public comment period on the State Board’s initial determinations for these rules has closed and the State Board’s final determinations have been filed with and approved by the Rules Review Commission. For more information about the periodic review process, please visit the Rules Review Commission's website at FAQs.

Procedure for Subjecting a Proposed Rule to Legislative Review

If an objection is not resolved prior to the adoption of the rule, a person may also submit written objections to the Rules Review Commission after the adoption of the Rule. If the Rules Review Commission receives written and signed objections after the adoption of the Rule in accordance with Effective date of rules (N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.3(b2)) from 10 or more persons clearly requesting review by the legislature and the Rules Review Commission approves the rule, the rule will become effective as provided in (b1). The Commission will receive written objections until 5 p.m. on the day following the day the Commission approves the rule. The Commission will receive those objections by mail, delivery service, hand delivery, or facsimile transmission. If you have any further questions concerning the submission of objections to the Commission, please call a Commission staff attorney at (984) 236-1850.

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