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 .0105 - PROCEDURES AT THE CLOSE OF VOTING

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a)
				Before each primary and election, the chairman of the county board of elections
				shall furnish each chief judge written instructions provided by the State Board
				pursuant to
				G.S.
				163-182.1,
				G.S.
				163-182.2, and
				08 NCAC
				06B. 0105 on how ballots shall be marked and
				counted. Before starting the counting of ballots in the precinct, the chief
				judge shall instruct all of the judges, assistants, and ballot counters in how
				marked ballots shall be counted and tallied.
(b) The Chief Judge shall announce or have it
				announced that the polls are closed at 7:30 p.m. unless the time has been
				extended pursuant to
				G.S.
				163-166.01. Time shall be determined by the
				same timepiece used to determine the opening of the polls.
(c) Any person who is in line at the close of
				polls shall be afforded an opportunity to vote. A list shall be made, starting
				at the end of the line and moving forward, of everyone standing in line at the
				close of polls and anyone whose name is on that list shall be permitted to
				vote. No person entering the voting enclosure after the close of polls has been
				announced, other than those whose names are on the list, shall be permitted to
				vote under any circumstance.
(d)
				The Chief Judge and Judges must subscribe their names to each
				pollbook.
(e) Only official ballots
				shall be voted and counted in accordance with
				G.S.
				163-182.1(a). No official
				ballot shall be rejected because of technical errors in marking it, unless it
				is impossible to determine the voter's choice under the rules for counting
				ballots. Such determination shall be made by the county board of elections if
				the chief judge and judges are unable to determine the voter's choice, or
				whether a particular ballot shall be counted.
(f) No person shall intentionally deface or
				tear an official ballot in any manner, and no person, other than the voter,
				shall intentionally erase any name or mark written on a ballot by a
				voter.
(g) The Chief Judge, along
				with a Judge of another political party, shall "close the polls" on each voting
				unit. The results sheet from each unit shall be placed in an "Official Precinct
				Returns Envelope." As soon as the polls are closed the chief judge and judges
				shall, without adjournment or postponement, count the ballots. The counting of
				ballots at the precinct shall be continuous until completed. More than one
				voting unit may be counted at the same time by the precinct officials,
				assistants, and ballot counters, but the chief judge and judges shall supervise
				the counting of all units and shall be responsible for them. From the time the
				first unit is read or opened and the count of votes begun until the votes are
				counted and the statement of returns made out, signed, certified and provided
				to the chief judge or judge responsible for delivering them to the county board
				office, the precinct chief judge and judges shall not separate, nor shall any
				one of them leave the voting place except in case of unavoidable necessity as
				determined by the Chief Judge.
(h)
				The counting of the ballots shall be made in the presence of the precinct
				election officials and witnesses and observers who are present and desire to
				observe the count. Observers shall not interfere with the counting of the
				ballots.
(i) As soon as the votes
				have been counted and the precinct returns certified, the chief judge, or one
				of the judges selected by the chief judge, shall do the following:
(1) report the total precinct vote for each
				ballot item to the witnesses and observers who are present; and
(2) report by telephone or other electronic
				means the total precinct vote for each ballot item to the county board of
				elections.
The total precinct vote shall be unofficial and shall have no
				  binding effect upon the official county canvass to follow.