Hi there, 

The election is less than a month out. 

As part of a series, we’ve been tracking changes to election laws since 2020. So we wanted to make you aware of a big change to our voter registration system!

In 2020, over 1,700 ballots in North Carolina were accepted from “ghost voters,” or people who voted on the same day as registering to vote, without their address (and thus, their residency) being verified, in the early voting period. 

You may be asking yourself, how could a ballot from an unverified voter be counted?

Because in the 2020 “Notice to Same-Day Registrants”, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) stated that:
 

“In the event the county board of elections cannot verify your address, your voter registration application will be denied and your absentee vote may be subject to challenge.”

So, while your registration might be denied, the ballot associated with that registration would still be counted, unless challenged. 

The problem is that those ballots were essentially unchallengeable, because of a technicality that a ballot challenge can only be based on “individualized evidence”. 

While 1,700 ghost voters may not seem like a big deal, recall that the election of the North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice was decided by only 401 votes. 

In close elections, every vote matters, so we should make sure that every ballot cast is legitimate. 

Thankfully, the General Assembly closed this loophole in 2023 with Senate Bill 747. This legislation requires county election boards to confirm same-day registrations during early voting just as they would of any other same-day registration. 

The bill also included a host of reforms that Locke has advocated for, to make our elections more secure and efficient. It also survived a court challenge with only a minor change that 
election officials have to notify those whose same-day registrations were denied. 

These changes were actually implemented for the 2024 primary, making for a smooth debut. In fact, only 37 ballots failed the same-day registration verification. 

While we will have to wait for data after the general election to get a clearer picture, in the meantime, it looks like North Carolina’s ghost voter problem has been fixed. 

You can read more about changes to North Carolina’s elections laws since 2020 here, here and here. 


Esse quam videri,

Brooke Medina
 

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More from Locke

1) 🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️ Comparing Hurricane Helene election law changes

• The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) and the General Assembly both approved changes in election law for the counties affected by Hurricane Helene
  • The General Assembly’s “Disaster Recovery Act of 2024” actually covers more counties than the SBE’s changes, and does more (such as provide additional funding)
• So, what are the changes?
  • Both early and Election Day voting can take place at alternate locations, including outside precincts
  • Election workers can be recruited outside of the precinct or county
  • Absentee ballots can be requested and pickup in-person up until Election Day
  • Absentee ballots can also be hand-delivered at Election Day-voting locations
  • Voters in affected counties can submit absentee ballots to any early voting site in the state or county board of elections office
  • Broadens the capabilities of Multipartisan Assistance Teams (MATs), to include delivering completed absentee ballots
  • County parties can recruit election observers from outside their county
  • Additional funding for the SBE to assist affected county election boards
• There haven’t been any changes to voter registration rules so far, so we may see a lawsuit on that question soon

You can get the full picture here. 


2) 🗳️🗳️🗳️ Unaffiliateds dominate new voter registration

• Early voting starts this Thursday, October 17!
• This past week was the first of the election cycle in which either party’s registration increase came close to that of Unaffiliated
  • Voter registrations have increased by 169,137 since the pre-election registration surge began in late July
    • This is far below the pace of registrations in 2020
  • This past week, there was a net increase of 12,916 Unaffiliated, 11,329 Republican and 5,430 Democratic registrations
• So far, county election boards have accepted 51,962 ballots through October 13. 
  • 37.5% of ballots returned are from Democrats
  • 35.1% from Unaffiliated voters
  • And 26.8% from Republicans
    • It seems like Democrats are returning more to in-person voting, as at this point in 2020, 51.2% of early voting was Democrat
• Meanwhile, in the polling averages, Trump continues to hold a very slight lead over Kamala Harris, 48.7% to 48.2%
  • While Josh Stein holds a comfortable lead over Mark Robinson, 52.0% to 38.6%

You can read more here. 


3) 🧐🧐🧐 Claims from WCPSS leaders wither under close scrutiny 
 

• Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) recently said at a press conference that the recent Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) legislation would harm local public schools
  • They specifically said OPS took needed money from underfunded public schools and that OSP schools lack accountability
    • The allegations were mostly reheated, old complaints that have been repeatedly disproven here and here
      • WCPSS is one of the most deep-pocketed school districts in the state… which begs the question of where the money is actually going… 
      • And it turns out a lot is going towards salaries, bonuses and supplements, and not capital investments
  • They also said that OSP schools have no testing regulations, which is false
    • NC state law mandates that all nonpublic schools which accept OSP students administer a nationally standardized test
  • And if the WCPSS doesn’t have the process it thinks it needs, then they should stop complaining about it and try persuading the public that it’s it a good idea to give them more funding
    • And showcasing better stewardship of WCPSS’s already existing budget would help

You can get the complete breakdown of WCPSS’s budget here.