North Carolina Absentee Rule Changes Raise Ballot Rejection Concerns Ahead of Midterms
North Carolina's mail voting rules changed significantly for the 2026 midterms. New State Board of Elections rules adopted in September require absentee ballots to pass signature verification and to be sealed in an inner envelope, or they will not be counted. The rejection rate for absentee ballots has risen to about 3% — roughly double the 2022 rate — reaching 7% to 8% in some counties, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on October 21.
Governor Josh Stein posted on October 20 warning that the board's late rule changes are causing more absentee ballots to be rejected, urging voters to vote in person if possible and, if voting by mail, to seal both envelopes. A federal judge upheld the new rules on October 19.
The general deadline to request an absentee ballot passed on October 20, two weeks before Election Day, with different deadlines for military and overseas voters. Ballots in hand must reach the voter's county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, November 3. Mail ballots must be completed before a notary or two witnesses, with the envelope signed and a photocopy of photo ID enclosed. Early voting statewide runs until 3 p.m. on October 31.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：北卡罗来纳州议会大厦（Raleigh）。摄影：DiscoA340，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh. Photo by DiscoA340, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
