§ 163-82.4. Contents of application form. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 163‑82.4.  Contents ofapplication form.

(a)        InformationRequested of Applicant. – The form required by G.S. 163‑82.3(a) shallrequest the applicant's:

(1)        Name,

(2)        Date of birth,

(3)        Residence address,

(4)        County of residence,

(5)        Date of application,

(6)        Gender,

(7)        Race,

(7a)      Ethnicity,

(8)        Political partyaffiliation, if any, in accordance with subsection (c) of this section,

(9)        Telephone number (toassist the county board of elections in contacting the voter if needed inprocessing the application),

(10)      Drivers licensenumber or, if the applicant does not have a drivers license number, the lastfour digits of the applicant's social security number,

and any other information theState Board finds is necessary to enable officials of the county where theperson resides to satisfactorily process the application. The form shallrequire the applicant to state whether currently registered to vote anywhere,and at what address, so that any prior registration can be cancelled. Theportions of the form concerning race and ethnicity shall include as a choiceany category shown by the most recent decennial federal census to compose atleast one percent (1%) of the total population of North Carolina. The countyboard shall make a diligent effort to complete for the registration records anyinformation requested on the form that the applicant does not complete, but noapplication shall be denied because an applicant does not state race,ethnicity, gender, or telephone number. The application shall conspicuously statethat provision of the applicant's telephone number is optional. If the countyboard maintains voter records on computer, the free list provided under thissubsection shall include telephone numbers if the county board enters thetelephone number into its computer records of voters.

(a1)      No Drivers Licenseor Social Security Number Issued. – The State Board shall assign a uniqueidentifier number to an applicant for voter registration if the applicant hasnot been issued either a current and valid drivers license or a social securitynumber. That unique identifier number shall serve to identify that applicantfor voter registration purposes.

(b)        Notice ofRequirements, Attestation, Notice of Penalty, and Notice of Confidentiality. – Theform required by G.S. 163‑82.3(a) shall contain, in uniform type, thefollowing:

(1)        A statement thatspecifies each eligibility requirement (including citizenship) and anattestation that the applicant meets each such requirement, with a requirementfor the signature of the applicant, under penalty of a Class I felony underG.S. 163‑275(13).

(2)        A statement that, ifthe applicant declines to register to vote, the fact that the applicant hasdeclined to register will remain confidential and will be used only for voterregistration purposes.

(3)        A statement that, ifthe applicant does register to vote, the office at which the applicant submitsa voter registration application will remain confidential and will be used onlyfor voter registration purposes.

(c)        Party Affiliation orUnaffiliated Status. – The application form described in G.S. 163‑82.3(a)shall provide a place for the applicant to state a preference to be affiliatedwith one of the political parties in G.S. 163‑96, or a preference to bean "unaffiliated" voter. Every person who applies to register shallstate his preference. If the applicant fails to declare a preference for aparty or for unaffiliated status, that person shall be listed as"unaffiliated", except that if the person is already registered tovote in the county and that person's registration already contains a partyaffiliation, the county board shall not change the registrant's status to"unaffiliated" unless the registrant clearly indicates a desire inaccordance with G.S. 163‑82.17 for such a change. An unaffiliatedregistrant shall not be eligible to vote in any political party primary, exceptas provided in G.S. 163‑119, but may vote in any other primary or generalelection. The application form shall so state.

(d)        Citizenship and AgeQuestions. – Voter registration application forms shall include all of thefollowing:

(1)        The followingquestion and statement:

a.         "Are you acitizen of the United States of America?" and boxes for the applicant tocheck to indicate whether the applicant is or is not a citizen of the UnitedStates.

b.         "If you checked'no' in response to this question, do not submit this form."

(2)        The followingquestions and statement:

a.         "Will you be 18years of age on or before election day?" and boxes for the applicant tocheck to indicate whether the applicant will be 18 years of age or older onelection day.

b.         "Are you atleast 16 years of age and understand that you must be 18 years of age on orbefore election day to vote?" and boxes for the applicant to check toindicate whether the applicant is at least 16 years of age and understands thatthe applicant must be at least 18 years of age or older by election day tovote.

c.         "If you checked'no' in response to both of these questions, do not submit this form."

(3)        Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑541, s. 9(a), effective January 1, 2010.

(e)        CorrectingRegistration Forms. – If the voter fails to complete any required item on thevoter registration form but provides enough information on the form to enablethe county board of elections to identify and contact the voter, the votershall be notified of the omission and given the opportunity to complete theform at least by 5:00 P.M. on the day before the county canvass as set in G.S.163‑182.5(b). If the voter corrects that omission within that time and isdetermined by the county board of elections to be eligible to vote, the boardshall permit the voter to vote. If the information is not corrected by electionday, the voter shall be allowed to vote a provisional official ballot. If thecorrect information is provided to the county board of elections by at least5:00 P.M. on the day before the county canvass, the board shall count anyportion of the provisional official ballot that the voter is eligible to vote.  (1901, c. 89, s. 12; Rev.,s. 4319; C.S., s. 5940; Ex. Sess. 1920, c. 93; 1933, c. 165, s. 5; 1951, c.984, s. 1; 1953, c. 843; 1955, c. 800; c. 871, s. 2; 1957, c. 784, s. 2; 1963,c. 303, s. 1; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1971, c. 1166, s. 6; 1973, c. 793, s. 27; c.1223, s. 3; 1975, c. 234, s. 2; 1979, c. 135, s. 1; c. 539, ss. 1‑3; c.797, ss. 1, 2; 1981, c. 222; c. 308, s. 2; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1044, s.18(a); 1993, c. 74, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 2; 1999‑424,s. 7(c), (d); 1999‑453, s. 8(a); 2003‑226, s. 9; 2004‑127, s.4; 2005‑428, s. 15; 2007‑391, s. 20; 2008‑187, s. 33(a); 2009‑541,s. 9(a).)