The North Carolina State Board of Elections, controlled by Republicans, approved new restrictions on the state’s vote-by-mail program on Friday morning, expanding circumstances under which election officials may discard ballots. The five-member board split along party lines to adopt the changes, which include disqualifying ballots with unsealed envelopes and limiting who can deliver mail ballots on behalf of another voter.
The new rules took effect shortly after counties in North Carolina began sending out absentee ballots for the upcoming fall election, positioning the state to be among the first to distribute mail ballots nationwide. Election officials had already mailed more than 47,000 absentee ballots as of Friday afternoon, with roughly 42 percent of those requested by registered Democrats, 38 percent by unaffiliated voters, and over 18 percent by Republicans, according to Jason Tyson, spokesperson for the State Board of Elections.
Republican board members framed the changes as necessary measures to uphold ballot security and election integrity. Stacy “Four” Eggers, a Republican board member, described the rules as addressing “a ballot security issue to make sure the voter’s will and intent is being followed through.” Supporters argue that stricter regulations prevent potential fraud and thus protect the electoral process.
The new restrictions include a provision that ballots must be dropped off in sealed envelopes; otherwise, county officials are required to discard them and issue new ballots. Additionally, only a voter’s “near relative” or legal guardian may deliver a mail ballot on their behalf, narrowing the pool of individuals permitted to handle ballots for others.
Democratic members and state officials strongly opposed the changes, asserting that they create confusion and risk disenfranchising certain voters, particularly individuals with disabilities or those lacking reliable internet access. Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen, the two Democrats on the board, criticized the Republican majority for pushing last-minute rule changes less than ten weeks before the election. Carmon symbolically appeared at the meeting with a virtual image of civil rights leader John Lewis behind him, emphasizing concerns about voter access. Governor Josh Stein, also a Democrat, condemned the revisions as “last-minute workarounds” that threaten to prevent some votes from being counted.
These adjustments come amid ongoing national debates regarding the security of mail voting. Former President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that vote-by-mail systems are susceptible to fraud and have advocated for stricter voting regulations. Trump has also suggested that limiting mail voting would benefit Republicans in upcoming elections. In North Carolina, while mail voting currently accounts for about 5 percent of ballots cast—significantly lower than in many other states—the implications could be pivotal in close races such as the highly contested Senate contest this fall.
The changes were enacted through an administrative directive by the State Board of Elections, a procedural tool allowing the board to alter election practices without waiting for formal legislation, which remains stalled in the North Carolina General Assembly. The move has intensified partisan tensions around election administration as the state prepares for the midterm contests.