reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
NC Gen Stat § 163-165 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165 - Definitions.

 163-165. Definitions.In addition to the definitions stated below, the definitions set forth in Article 15A of this Chapter also apply to this Part. As used in this Part:(1) "Ballot" means an instrument on which a voter indicates that voter's choice for a ballot item so that it may be recorded as a vote for or against a certain candidate or referendum proposal, and is evidenced by an individual paper document that bears marks made by the voter by hand or through electronic means, whether preprinted or printed in the voting enclosure.(2) "Ballot item" means a single item on a ballot in which the voters are to choose between or among the candidates or proposals listed.(3) "Ballot style" means the version of a ballot within a jurisdiction that an individual voter is eligible to vote. For example, in a county that uses essentially the same official ballot, a group office such as county commissioner may be divided into districts so that different voters in the same county vote for commissioner in different districts. The different versions of the county's official ballot containing only those district ballot items one individual voter may vote are the county's different ballot styles.(4) "Election" means the event in which voters cast votes in ballot items concerning proposals or candidates for office in this State or the United States. The term includes primaries, general elections, referenda, and special elections.(5) "Official ballot" means a ballot that has been certified by the State Board of Elections and produced by or with the approval of the county board of elections. The term does not include a sample ballot or a specimen ballot.(6) "Provisional official ballot" means an official ballot that is voted and then placed in an envelope that contains an affidavit signed by the voter certifying identity and eligibility to vote. Except for its envelope, a provisional official ballot shall not be marked to make it identifiable to the voter.(7) "Referendum" means the event in which voters cast votes for or against ballot questions other than the election of candidates to office.(8) "Voting booth" means the private space in which a voter is to mark an official ballot.(9) "Voting enclosure" means the room within the voting place that is used for voting.(10) "Voting place" means the building or area of the building that contains the voting enclosure.(11) "Voting system" means a system of casting and tabulating ballots. The term includes systems of paper ballots counted by hand as well as systems utilizing mechanical and electronic voting equipment.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2001-466, s. 3(a), (b); 2002-159, s. 21(h); 2006-262, s. 4; 2013-381, ss. 30.1, 30.2; 2015-103, ss. 4(a), 5(a), 6(b); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-13, s. 3.11(b); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.1 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.1 - Scope and general rules.

 163-165.1. Scope and general rules.(a) Scope. - This Article shall apply to all elections in this State.(b) Requirements of Official Ballots in Voting. - In any election conducted under this Article:(1) All voting shall be by official ballot.(2) Only votes cast on an official ballot shall be counted.(c) Compliance With This Article. - All ballots shall comply with the provisions of this Article.(d) Other Uses Prohibited. - An official ballot shall not be used for any purpose not authorized by this Article.(e) Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of individual voted ballots shall be treated as confidential, and no person other than elections officials performing their duties may have access to voted ballots or paper or electronic records of individual voted ballots except by court order or order of the appropriate board of elections as part of the resolution of an election protest or investigation of an alleged election irregularity or violation. Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of individual voted ballots shall not be disclosed to members of the public in such a way as to disclose how a particular voter voted, unless a court orders otherwise. Any person who has access to an official voted ballot or record and knowingly discloses in violation of this section how an individual has voted that ballot is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2002-159, s. 55(o); 2005-323, s. 1(f); 2007-391, s. 9(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.2 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.2 - Sample ballots.

 163-165.2. Sample ballots.(a) County Board to Produce and Distribute Sample Ballots. - The county board of elections shall produce sample ballots, in all the necessary ballot styles of the official ballot, for every election to be held in the county. The sample ballots shall be given an appearance that clearly distinguishes them from official ballots. The county board shall distribute sample ballots to the chief judge of every precinct in which the election is to be conducted. The chief judge shall post a sample ballot in the voting place and may use it for instructional purposes. The county board of elections may use the sample ballot for other informational purposes.(b) Document Resembling an Official Ballot to Contain Disclaimer. - No person other than a board of elections shall produce or disseminate a document substantially resembling an official ballot unless the document contains on its face a prominent statement that the document was not produced by a board of elections and is not an official ballot.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.4 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.4 - Standards for official ballots.

 163-165.4. Standards for official ballots.The State Board of Elections shall ensure that official ballots throughout the State have all the following characteristics:(1) Are readily understandable by voters.(2) Present all candidates and questions in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.(3) Allow every voter to cast a vote in every ballot item without difficulty.(4) Facilitate an accurate vote count.(5) Are uniform in content and format, subject to varied presentations required or made desirable by different voting systems.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2013-381, s. 29.1; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.4A (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.4A - Punch-card ballots and lever machines.

 163-165.4A. Punch-card ballots and lever machines.(a) No ballot may be used in any referendum, primary, or other election as an official ballot if it requires the voter to punch out a hole with a stylus or other tool.(b) No lever machine voting system may be used in any referendum, primary, or other election as a means of voting the official ballot. A "lever machine voting system" is a voting system on which the voter casts a vote by pressing a lever and the vote is mechanically recorded by the machine.(c) In any counties that used punch-card ballots as official ballots or lever machines in the election of November 2000, and in any municipalities located in those counties, this section becomes effective January 1, 2006. It is the intent of the General Assembly that any county that uses county funds to replace voting equipment to satisfy this section shall be given priority in appropriations to counties for voting equipment.  (2001-310, ss. 1, 3; 2003-226, s. 12; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.4B (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.4B - Butterfly ballots.

 163-165.4B. Butterfly ballots.No butterfly ballot may be used as an official ballot in any referendum, primary, or other election. The term "butterfly ballot" means a ballot having more than one column listing ballot choices that share a common column for designating those choices.  (2001-310, ss. 2, 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.4C (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.4C - Prohibited voting systems.

 163-165.4C. Prohibited voting systems.A voting system that does not use or produce a ballot shall not be used in any referendum, primary, or other election as a means of voting or counting an official ballot.  (2015-103, s. 5(b); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b)3.)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.5A (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.5A - Expired pursuant to Session Laws 2001-288, s. 3, effective January 1, 2012.

 163-165.5A. Expired pursuant to Session Laws 2001-288, s. 3, effective January 1, 2012.
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.5B (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.5B - Ballots may be combined.

 163-165.5B. Ballots may be combined.Notwithstanding any other statute or local act, a county board of elections, with the approval of the State Board of Elections, may combine ballot items on the same official ballot.  (2007-391, s. 7; 2008-187, s. 33(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.8 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.8 - Voting systems: powers and duties of board of county commissioners.

 163-165.8. Voting systems: powers and duties of board of county commissioners.The board of county commissioners, with the approval of the county board of elections, may adopt and acquire only a voting system of a type, make, and model certified by the State Board of Elections for use in some or all voting places in the county at some or all elections.The board of county commissioners may decline to adopt and acquire any voting system recommended by the county board of elections but may not adopt and acquire any voting system that has not been approved by the county board of elections. Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes does not apply to the purchase of a voting system certified by the State Board of Elections.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2005-323, s. 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.9A (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.9A - Voting systems: requirements for voting systems vendors; penalties.

 163-165.9A. Voting systems: requirements for voting systems vendors; penalties.(a) Duties of Vendor. - Every vendor that has a contract to provide a voting system in North Carolina shall do all of the following:(1) The vendor shall place in escrow with an independent escrow agent approved by the State Board of Elections all software that is relevant to functionality, setup, configuration, and operation of the voting system, including, but not limited to, a complete copy of the source and executable code, build scripts, object libraries, application program interfaces, and complete documentation of all aspects of the system including, but not limited to, compiling instructions, design documentation, technical documentation, user documentation, hardware and software specifications, drawings, records, and data. The State Board of Elections may require in its request for proposal that additional items be escrowed, and if any vendor that agrees in a contract to escrow additional items, those items shall be subject to the provisions of this section. The documentation shall include a list of programmers responsible for creating the software and a sworn affidavit that the source code includes all relevant program statements in low-level and high-level languages.(2) The vendor shall notify the State Board of Elections of any change in any item required to be escrowed by subdivision (1) of this subsection.(3) The chief executive officer of the vendor shall sign a sworn affidavit that the source code and other material in escrow is the same being used in its voting systems in this State. The chief executive officer shall ensure that the statement is true on a continuing basis.(4) The vendor shall promptly notify the State Board of Elections and the county board of elections of any county using its voting system of any decertification of the same system in any state, of any defect in the same system known to have occurred anywhere, and of any relevant defect known to have occurred in similar systems.(5) The vendor shall maintain an office in North Carolina with staff to service the contract.(b) Penalties. - Willful violation of any of the duties in subsection (a) of this section is a Class G felony. Substitution of source code into an operating voting system without notification as provided by subdivision (a)(2) of this section is a Class I felony. In addition to any other applicable penalties, violations of this section are subject to a civil penalty to be assessed by the State Board of Elections in its discretion in an amount of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation. A civil penalty assessed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of G.S. 163-278.34(e).(c) Definitions. - For the purposes of this section, the term "voting system" shall include an electronic poll book or a ballot duplication system.  (2005-323, s. 2(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-13, s. 3.7(b); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-165.10 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-165.10 - Adequacy of voting system for each precinct.

 163-165.10. Adequacy of voting system for each precinct.The county board of elections shall make available for each precinct voting place an adequate quantity of official ballots or equipment. When the board of county commissioners has decided to adopt and purchase or lease a voting system for voting places under the provisions of G.S. 165-165.8 [G.S. 163-165.8], the board of county commissioners shall, as soon as practical, provide for each of those voting places sufficient equipment of the approved voting system in complete working order. If it is impractical to furnish each voting place with the equipment of the approved voting system, that which has been obtained may be placed in voting places chosen by the county board of elections. In that case, the county board of elections shall choose the voting places and allocate the equipment in a way that as nearly as practicable provides equal access to the voting system for each voter. The county board of elections shall appoint as many voting system custodians as may be necessary for the proper preparation of the system for each election and for its maintenance, storage, and care. The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections may permit a county board of elections to provide more than one type of voting system in a precinct, but only upon a finding that doing so is necessary to comply with federal or State law.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2005-428, s. 2; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.01 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.01 - Hours for voting.

 163-166.01. Hours for voting.In every election, the voting place shall be open at 6:30 A.M. and shall be closed at 7:30 P.M. If the polls are delayed in opening for more than 15 minutes, or are interrupted for more than 15 minutes after opening, the State Board of Elections may extend the closing time by an equal number of minutes. As authorized by law, the State Board of Elections shall be available either in person or by teleconference on the day of election to approve any such extension. If any voter is in line to vote at the time the polls are closed, that voter shall be permitted to vote. No voter shall be permitted to vote who arrives at the voting place after the closing of the polls.Any voter who votes after the statutory poll closing time of 7:30 P.M. by virtue of a federal or State court order or any other lawful order, including an order of a county board of elections, shall be allowed to vote, under the provisions of that order, only by using a provisional official ballot. Any special provisional official ballots cast under this section shall be separated, counted, and held apart from other provisional ballots cast by other voters not under the effect of the order extending the closing time of the voting place. If the court order has not been reversed or stayed by the time of the county canvass, the total for that category of provisional ballots shall be added to the official canvass.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2003-226, s. 14; 2013-381, s. 33.1; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.1 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.1 - Duties of county board of elections.

 163-166.1. Duties of county board of elections.The county board of elections shall:(1) Provide for the timely delivery to each voting place of the supplies, records, and equipment necessary for the conduct of the election.(2) Ensure that adequate procedures are in place at each voting place for a safe, secure, fair, and honest election.(3) Respond to precinct officials' questions and problems where necessary.(4) Provide adequate technical support for the voting system, which shall be done in conjunction with the State Board of Elections.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2009-541, s. 21; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.2 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.2 - Arrangement of the voting enclosure.

 163-166.2. Arrangement of the voting enclosure.Each voting enclosure shall contain at a minimum:(1) A sufficient number of private spaces for all voters to mark their official ballots in secrecy.(2) Adequate space and furniture for the separate functions of:a. The checking of voter registration records.b. The distribution of official ballots.c. Private discussion with voters concerning irregular situations.(3) A telephone or some facility for communication with the county board of elections.The equipment and furniture in the voting enclosure shall be arranged so that it can be generally seen from the public space of the enclosure.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.3 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.3 - Limited access to the voting enclosure.

 163-166.3. Limited access to the voting enclosure.(a) Persons Who May Enter Voting Enclosure. - During the time allowed for voting in the voting place, only the following persons may enter the voting enclosure:(1) An election official.(2) An observer appointed pursuant to G.S. 163-45.(3) A runner appointed pursuant to G.S. 163-45, but only to the extent necessary to announce that runner's presence and to receive the voter list as provided in G.S. 163-45.(4) A person seeking to vote in that voting place on that day but only while in the process of voting or seeking to vote.(5) A voter in that precinct while entering or explaining a challenge pursuant to G.S. 163-87 or G.S. 163-88.(6) A person authorized under G.S. 163-166.8 to assist a voter but, except as provided in subdivision (7) of this section, only while assisting that voter.(7) Minor children of the voter under the age of 18, or minor children under the age of 18 in the care of the voter, but only while accompanying the voter and while under the control of the voter.(8) Persons conducting or participating in a simulated election within the voting place or voting enclosure, if that simulated election is approved by the county board of elections.(9) Any other person determined by election officials to have an urgent need to enter the voting enclosure but only to the extent necessary to address that need.(b) Photographing Voters Prohibited. - No person shall photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of any voter within the voting enclosure, except with the permission of both the voter and the chief judge of the precinct. If the voter is a candidate, only the permission of the voter is required. This subsection shall also apply to one-stop sites under G.S. 163-227.2, 163-227.5, and 163-227.6. This subsection does not apply to cameras used as a regular part of the security of the facility that is a voting place or one-stop site.(c) Photographing Voted Ballot Prohibited. - No person shall photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of a voted official ballot for any purpose not otherwise permitted under law.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2005-428, s. 1(b); 2007-391, s. 23; 2008-187, s. 33(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-144, s. 3.4(b); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.5 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.5 - Procedures at voting place before voting begins.

 163-166.5. Procedures at voting place before voting begins.The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for precinct officials to set up the voting place before voting begins. Those rules shall emphasize:(1) Continual participation or monitoring by officials of more than one party.(2) Security of official ballots, records, and equipment.(3) The appearance as well as the reality of care, efficiency, impartiality, and honest election administration.The county boards of elections and precinct officials shall adhere to those procedures.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
NC Gen Stat § 163-166.6 (2021)
2021 North Carolina General Statutes|Chapter 163 - Elections and Election Laws|Article 14A - Voting.|§ 163-166.6 - Designation of tasks.

 163-166.6. Designation of tasks.The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for the delegation of tasks among the election officials at each precinct. Those rules shall emphasize:(1) The need to place primary managerial responsibility upon the chief judge.(2) The need to have maximum multiparty participation in all duties where questions of partisan partiality might be raised.(3) The need to provide flexibility of management to the county board of elections and to the chief judge, in consideration of different abilities of officials, the different availability of officials, and the different needs of voters precinct by precinct.  (2001-460, s. 3; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)