North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 08 - ELECTIONS › Chapter 10 - BALLOT ROTATION RULES FOR PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOTS › Subchapter B - VOTING, VOTING PLACES AND PRECINCT OFFICIALS' DUTIES AND TASKS › Section 10B .0104 - LEAVING THE VOTING ENCLOSURE, SPOILED OR INCOMPLETE BALLOTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) When the voter has been presented with
				the official ballots by the judge, the voter shall be deemed to have begun the
				act of voting, and the voter shall not leave the voting enclosure until the
				voter has finalized the act of voting. On receiving the ballots, the voter
				shall retire alone to one of the voting booths, unless the voter is entitled to
				assistance under
				G.S.
				163-166.8, where the voter shall mark the
				ballots. The voter shall return any unvoted ballots to the precinct
				officials.
(b) If a voter spoils or
				damages a ballot, the voter may obtain another upon returning the spoiled or
				damaged ballot to the chief judge or other designated official. A voter shall
				not be given a replacement ballot until the voter has returned the spoiled or
				damaged ballot. The voter shall not receive more than three replacement
				ballots. The chief judge shall deposit each spoiled or damaged ballot in the
				container provided for that purpose.
(c) When the voter has marked the ballot the
				voter shall ensure the ballot is cast according to the instructions provided by
				precinct officials. After casting his or her ballots, the voter shall leave the
				voting enclosure unless the voter is authorized to remain within the enclosure
				for purposes of assisting a voter pursuant to
				G.S.
				163-166.8.
(d) No voter shall be permitted to occupy a
				voting booth already occupied by another voter, except that spouses may occupy
				the same voting booth if both wish to do so. Excluded from this prohibition are
				persons providing assistance under
				G.S.
				163-166.8.
(e) When the voter leaves the voting
				enclosure, whether or not the voter has finalized voting, the voter shall not
				be permitted to enter the voting enclosure again for the purpose of
				voting.
(f) If a voter leaves the
				voting enclosure and has not finalized the act of voting by pressing the button
				or touching the screen in the space in the case of Direct Record Electronic
				Voting Machines, by feeding the ballot into the tabulator in the case of
				Optical Scan Equipment, or by depositing the paper ballot into the ballot box,
				the chief judge or judges of election may find, by unanimous vote, that the
				ballot marked by the voter had not been disturbed by any other person and may
				execute the ballot for the voter who has vacated the voting enclosure. If the
				Chief Judge and Judges of election cannot unanimously confirm that the ballot
				marked by the voter has not been disturbed, the ballot must be marked as
				spoiled and placed with other spoiled ballots (or in the case of direct record
				electronic machines, the ballot must be cleared according to the voting system
				specifications). The fact that a ballot is only partially and not fully marked
				shall have no bearing on the decision of the Chief Judge and Judges. In each
				instance where this type of incident occurs, the Chief Judge and Judges must
				document the circumstances and make the information known to the county board
				of elections.
Authority
				  G.S.
				  163-22;
				  163-166.7;
Temporary
				  Adoption Eff. April 15, 2002;
Eff. August 1, 2004;
Readopted Eff. September 1, 2019.