{"id":4147,"date":"2020-10-03T14:24:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-03T14:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4147"},"modified":"2023-08-17T15:38:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:38:29","slug":"north-carolina-voters-can-fix-most-deficient-ballots-unless-judge-intervenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/10\/03\/north-carolina-voters-can-fix-most-deficient-ballots-unless-judge-intervenes\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina voters can fix most deficient ballots, unless judge intervenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> A federal judge on Saturday blocked changes to North Carolina\u2019s absentee voting process, placing a\u00a0<\/i>temporary restraining order<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on the Sept. 22 State Board of Elections settlement that allowed voters to cure ballots with missing witness information by signing an affidavit. The announcement affects the following story in that instead of mailing cure certifications to voters whose ballots had missing witness information, county boards of elections will now hold those ballots while courts determine the next step. We’ll update this story with future developments.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

As much as <\/span>40%<\/span><\/a> of the state electorate will vote by mail this year. But don\u2019t screw up if you want your vote counted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, three in ten absentee ballots have been thrown out because they do not meet necessary guidelines, said Gunther Peck, Duke history professor and voting rights activist. Now, more voters who make mistakes on their ballots will get a second chance to make it count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>joint motion<\/span><\/a> filed last Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court revised the statewide ballot curing process so voters can simply sign an affidavit to fix the most common mistake in absentee ballots \u2014 incomplete witness information. Previous guidelines required voters to cast a new ballot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In North Carolina, a witness must certify that a specific voter completed the ballot by providing their name, birthday, address and signature on it. The <\/span>North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans<\/span><\/a> filed a lawsuit on Aug. 10 demanding various changes to the absentee voting process, including suspending the witness requirement for single-adult households. The organization and the North Carolina State Board of Elections agreed in the <\/span>Sept. 22<\/span><\/a> settlement that the witness requirement will remain, but ballots without complete witness information can be cured through a cure certification, or affidavit.<\/span><\/p>\n

When a voter slips up, the county board sends them a cure certification form. The form explains that the voter missed information in their ballot and asks that they provide a signature to remedy the deficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

State guidelines<\/span><\/a> require that county boards physically mail and email the cure certification to the voter, who should only return one form. If the county board does not have the voter\u2019s email address on file, election officials are obligated to give the voter a call.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The following deficiencies qualify for a cure certification, according to the <\/span>state board of elections<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n