§ 163-82.15. Change of address within the county. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 163‑82.15.  Change ofaddress within the county.

(a)        Registrant's Dutyto Report. – No registered voter shall be required to re‑register uponmoving from one precinct to another within the same county. Instead, aregistrant shall notify the county board of the change of address by the closeof registration for an election as set out in G.S. 163‑82.6(c). Inaddition to any other method allowed by G.S. 163‑82.6, the form may besubmitted by electronic facsimile, under the same deadlines as if it had beensubmitted in person. The registrant shall make the notification by means of avoter registration form as described in G.S. 163‑82.3, or by anotherwritten notice, signed by the registrant, that includes the registrant's fullname, former residence address, new residence address, and the registrant'sattestation that the registrant moved at least 30 days before the next primaryor election from the old to the new address.

(b)        Verification of NewAddress by Mail. – When a county board of elections receives a notice that aregistrant in that county has changed residence within the same county, thecounty board shall send a notice, by nonforwardable mail, to the registrant atthe new address. The notice shall inform the registrant of any new precinct andvoting place that will result from the change of address, and it shall statewhether the registrant shall vote at the new voting place during the upcomingelection or at a later election. If the Postal Service returns the countyboard's notice to the registrant as undeliverable, the county board shalleither:

(1)        Send a second noticeby nonforwardable mail to the new address and, if it is returned asundeliverable, send to the registrant's old address a confirmation notice asdescribed in G.S. 163‑82.14(d)(2); or

(2)        Send to theregistrant's old address a confirmation notice as described in G.S. 163‑82.14(d)(2)without first sending a second nonforwardable notice to the new address.

In either case, if the registrantdoes not respond to the confirmation notice as described in G.S. 163‑82.14(d)(2),then the county board shall proceed with the removal of the registrant from thelist of voters in accordance with G.S. 163‑82.14(d).

(c)        Board's Duty toMake Change. – If the county board confirms the registrant's new address inaccordance with subsection (b) of this section, the county board shall as soonas practical change the record to reflect the new address.

(d)        Unreported MoveWithin the Same Precinct. – A registrant who has moved from one address toanother within the same precinct shall, notwithstanding failure to notify thecounty board of the change of address before an election, be permitted to voteat the voting place of that precinct upon oral or written affirmation by theregistrant of the change of address before a precinct official at that votingplace.

(e)        Unreported Move toAnother Precinct Within the County. – If a registrant has moved from an addressin one precinct to an address in another precinct within the same county morethan 30 days before an election and has failed to notify the county board ofthe change of address before the close of registration for that election, thecounty board shall permit that person to vote in that election. The countyboard shall permit the registrant described in this subsection to vote at theregistrant's new precinct, upon the registrant's written affirmation of the newaddress, or, if the registrant prefers, at a central location in the county tobe chosen by the county board. If the registrant appears at the old precinct,the precinct officials there shall send the registrant to the new precinct or,if the registrant prefers, to the central location, according to rules whichshall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. At the new precinct, theregistrant shall be processed by a precinct transfer assistant, according torules which shall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. Any votersubject to this subsection may instead vote a provisional ballot according tothe provisions of G.S. 163‑166.11.

(f)         When RegistrantDisputes Registration Records. – If the registration records indicate that theregistrant has moved outside the precinct, but the registrant denies havingmoved from the address within the precinct previously shown on the records, theregistrant shall be permitted to vote at the voting place for the precinctwhere the registrant claims to reside, if the registrant gives oral or writtenaffirmation before a precinct official at that voting place.

(g)        Precinct TransferAssistants. – The county board of elections shall either designate a boardemployee or appoint other persons to serve as precinct transfer assistants toreceive the election‑day transfers of the voters described in subsection(e) of this section. In addition, board members and employees may perform theduties of precinct transfer assistants. The State Board of Elections shallpromulgate uniform rules to carry out the provisions of this section, and shalldefine in those rules the duties of the precinct transfer assistant. (1979, c. 135, s. 2; 1983, c.392, s. 2; 1984, Ex. Sess., c. 3, ss. 1, 2; 1987, c. 549, s. 1; 1989, c. 427;1991, c. 12, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1032, s. 3; 1993 (Reg. Sess.,1994), c. 762, s. 2; 2001‑314, s. 1; 2005‑2, s. 3; 2006‑262,s. 2.)