A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the date and time THAT mail‑in absentee ballots must be returned to the county board in order to be counted and to extend the early one‑stop voting period by three days.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163‑231(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Transmitting Executed Absentee Ballots to County Board of Elections. – The sealed container‑return envelope in which executed absentee ballots have been placed shall be transmitted to the county board of elections who issued those ballots as follows:
(1)	All ballots issued under the provisions of this Article and Article 21A of this Chapter shall be transmitted by mail or by commercial courier service, at the voter's expense, or delivered in person, or by the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian and received by the county board not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the statewide primary or general election or county bond election. Ballots issued under the provisions of Article 21A of this Chapter may also be electronically transmitted.
(2)	If ballots are received later than the hour stated in subdivision (1) of this subsection, those ballots shall not be accepted unless federal law so requires.

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SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 163‑258.10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑258.10.  Timely casting of ballot.
To be valid, a military‑overseas ballot shall be received by the appropriate county board of elections no later than the close of the polls on the date of the election."
SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 163‑258.12 is repealed.
SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 163‑234 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑234.  Counting absentee ballots by county board of elections.
All absentee ballots returned to the county board of elections in the container‑return envelopes shall be retained by the board to be counted by the county board of elections as follows:
(1)	Only those absentee ballots returned to the county board of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on election day in a properly executed container‑return envelope or absentee ballots received pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2) shall be counted.
(2)	The county board of elections shall meet at 5:00 p.m. on election day in the board office or other public location in the county courthouse for the purpose of counting all absentee ballots except those which have been challenged before 5:00 p.m. on election day and those received pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2). Any elector of the county shall be permitted to attend the meeting and allowed to observe the counting process, so long as the elector does not in any manner interfere with the election officials in the discharge of their duties.
The county board of elections may begin counting absentee ballots issued under Article 21A of this Chapter between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and may begin counting all absentee ballots between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. upon the adoption of a resolution at least two weeks prior to the election in which the hour and place of counting absentee ballots shall be stated. The resolution also may provide for an additional meeting following the day of the election and prior to the day of canvass to count absentee ballots received pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2) as provided in subdivision (11) of this section. A copy of the resolution shall be published once a week for two weeks prior to the election, in a newspaper having general circulation in the county. Notice may additionally be made on a radio or television station or both, but the notice shall be in addition to the newspaper and other required notice. The count shall be continuous until completed and the members shall not separate or leave the counting place except for unavoidable necessity, except that if the count has been completed prior to the time the polls close, it shall be suspended until that time pending receipt of any additional ballots. Nothing in this section prohibits a county board of elections from taking preparatory steps for the count earlier than the times specified in this section, as long as the preparatory steps do not reveal to any individual not engaged in the actual count election results before the times specified in this subdivision for the count to begin. By way of illustration and not limitation, a preparatory step for the count would be the entry of tally cards from direct record electronic voting units into a computer for processing. The board shall not announce the result of the count before 7:30 p.m.
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(9)	In the event a political party does not have a member of the county board of elections present at the meeting to count absentee ballots due to illness or other cause of the member, the counting shall not commence until the county party chair of the absent member, or a member of the party's county executive committee, is in attendance. The person shall act as an official witness to the counting and shall sign the absentee ballot abstract as an "observer".
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(11)	Any absentee ballots received pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2) shall be counted by the county board of elections on the day of canvass. The county board of elections shall comply with all other requirements of this section and G.S. 163‑230.1 for the counting of absentee ballots received pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2)."
SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 163‑89(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Time for Challenge. – The absentee ballot of any voter received by the county board of elections pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(1) may be challenged on the day of any statewide primary or general election or county bond election beginning no earlier than noon and ending no later than 5:00 P.M., or by the chief judge at the time of closing of the polls as provided in G.S. 163‑232 and G.S. 163‑258.26(b). The absentee ballot of any voter received by the county board of elections pursuant to G.S. 163‑231(b)(2) may be challenged no later than 5:00 p.m. on the next business day following the deadline for receipt of such absentee ballots."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑227.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑227.2.  Alternate procedures for requesting application for absentee ballot; "one‑stop" voting procedure in board office.
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(b)	Not earlier than the third Monday before an election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election, the voter shall appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections, except as provided in G.S. 163‑227.6. A county board of elections shall conduct one‑stop voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. That voter shall enter the voting enclosure at the board office through the appropriate entrance and shall at once state his or her name and place of residence to an authorized member or employee of the board and present photo identification in accordance with G.S. 163‑166.16. In a primary election, the voter shall also state the political party with which the voter affiliates and in whose primary the voter desires to vote, or if the voter is an unaffiliated voter permitted to vote in the primary of a particular party under G.S. 163‑119, the voter shall state the name of the authorizing political party in whose primary he wishes to vote. The board member or employee to whom the voter gives this information shall announce the name and residence of the voter in a distinct tone of voice. After examining the registration records, an employee of the board shall state whether the person seeking to vote is duly registered. If the voter is found to be registered that voter may request that the authorized member or employee of the board furnish the voter with an application for absentee ballots. The voter shall complete the application in the presence of the authorized member or employee of the board, and shall deliver the application to that person.
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(h)	Notwithstanding the exception specified in G.S. 163‑36, counties which operate a modified full‑time office shall remain open five days each week during regular business hours consistent with daily hours presently observed by the county board of elections, commencing with the date prescribed in subsection (b) of this section and continuing until 5:00 P.M. on the Friday prior to that election and shall also be open on the last Saturday before the election. A county board may conduct one‑stop absentee voting during evenings or on weekends, as long as the hours are part of a plan submitted and approved in accordance with G.S. 163‑227.6. The boards of county commissioners shall provide necessary funds for the additional operation of the office during that time.
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SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.