§ 163-82.6. Acceptance of application forms. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 163‑82.6.  Acceptanceof application forms.

(a)        How the Form May BeSubmitted. – The county board of elections shall accept any form described inG.S. 163‑82.3 if the applicant submits the form by mail, facsimiletransmission, transmission of a scanned document, or in person. The applicantmay delegate the submission of the form to another person. Any person whocommunicates to an applicant acceptance of that delegation shall deliver thatform so that it is received by the appropriate county board of elections intime to satisfy the registration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) ofsubsection (c) of this section for the next election. It shall be a Class 2misdemeanor for any person to communicate to the applicant acceptance of thatdelegation and then fail to make a good faith effort to deliver the form sothat it is received by the county board of elections in time to satisfy theregistration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of thissection for the next election. It shall be an affirmative defense to a chargeof failing to make a good faith effort to deliver a delegated form by theregistration deadline that the delegatee informed the applicant that the formwould not likely be delivered in time for the applicant to vote in the next election.It shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to sell or attempt to sell acompleted voter registration form or to condition its delivery upon payment.

(a1)      Misdemeanors. – Itshall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to do any of the following:

(1)        To communicate tothe applicant acceptance of the delegation described in subsection (a) of thissection and then fail to make a good faith effort to deliver the form so thatit is received by the county board of elections in time to satisfy the registrationdeadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section for thenext election. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of failing tomake a good faith effort to deliver a delegated form by the registrationdeadline that the delegatee informed the applicant that the form would notlikely be delivered in time for the applicant to vote in the next election.

(2)        To sell or attemptto sell a completed voter registration form or to condition its delivery uponpayment.

(3)        To change a person'sinformation on a voter registration form prior to its delivery to a countyboard of elections.

(4)        To coerce a personinto marking a party affiliation other than the party affiliation the persondesires.

(5)        To offer a person avoter registration form that has a party affiliation premarked unless theperson receiving the form has requested the premarking.

(b)        Signature. – Theform shall be valid only if signed by the applicant. An electronically capturedimage of the signature of a voter on an electronic voter registration formoffered by a State agency shall be considered a valid signature for allpurposes for which a signature on a paper voter registration form is used.

(c)        RegistrationDeadlines for a Primary or Election. – In order to be valid for a primary orelection, except as provided in G.S. 163‑82.6A, the form:

(1)        If submitted bymail, must be postmarked at least 25 days before the primary or election,except that any mailed application on which the postmark is missing or unclearis validly submitted if received in the mail not later than 20 days before theprimary or election,

(2)        If submitted inperson, by facsimile transmission, or by transmission of a scanned document,must be received by the county board of elections by a time established by thatboard, but no earlier than 5:00 P.M., on the twenty‑fifth day before theprimary or election,

(3)        If submitted througha delegatee who violates the duty set forth in subsection (a) of this section,must be signed by the applicant and given to the delegatee not later than 25days before the primary or election, except as provided in subsection (d) ofthis section.

(c1)      If the applicationis submitted by facsimile transmission or transmission of a scanned document, apermanent copy of the completed, signed form shall be delivered to the countyboard no later than 20 days before the election.

(d)        Instances WhenPerson May Register and Vote on Primary or Election Day. – If a person hasbecome qualified to register and vote between the twenty‑fifth day beforea primary or election and primary or election day, then that person may applyto register on primary or election day by submitting an application formdescribed in G.S. 163‑82.3(a) or (b) to:

(1)        A member of thecounty board of elections;

(2)        The county directorof elections; or

(3)        The chief judge or ajudge of the precinct in which the person is eligible to vote,

and, if the application isapproved, that person may vote the same day. The official in subdivisions (1)through (3) of this subsection to whom the application is submitted shalldecide whether the applicant is eligible to vote. The applicant shall presentto the official written or documentary evidence that the applicant is theperson he represents himself to be. The official, if in doubt as to the rightof the applicant to register, may require other evidence satisfactory to thatofficial as to the applicant's qualifications. If the official determines thatthe person is eligible, the person shall be permitted to vote in the primary orelection and the county board shall add the person's name to the list ofregistered voters. If the official denies the application, the person shall bepermitted to vote a challenged ballot under the provisions of G.S. 163‑88.1,and may appeal the denial to the full county board of elections. The StateBoard of Elections shall promulgate rules for the county boards of elections tofollow in hearing appeals for denial of primary or election day applications toregister. No person shall be permitted to register on the day of a secondprimary unless he shall have become qualified to register and vote between thedate of the first primary and the date of the succeeding second primary.

(e)        For purposes ofsubsection (d) of this section, persons who "become qualified to registerand vote" during a time period:

(1)        Include those whoduring that time period are naturalized as citizens of the United States or whoare restored to citizenship after a conviction of a felony; but

(2)        Do not includepersons who reach the age of 18 during that time period, if those persons wereeligible to register while 17 years old during an earlier period.

(f)         The county boardof elections shall forward by electronic means any application submitted forthe purpose of preregistration to the State Board of Elections. No later than60 days prior to the first election in which the applicant will be legallyentitled to vote, the State Board of Elections shall notify the appropriatecounty board of elections to verify the qualifications and address of theapplicant in accordance with G.S. 163‑82.7.  (1901, c. 89, ss. 18, 21;Rev., ss. 4322, 4323; C.S., ss. 5946, 5947; 1923, c. 111, s. 3; 1933, c. 165,s. 5; 1947, c. 475; 1953, c. 843; 1955, c. 800; 1957, c. 784, ss., 3, 4; 1961,c. 382; 1963, c. 303, ss. 1, 2; 1967, c. 761, s. 3; c. 775, s. 1; 1969, c. 750,ss. 1, 2; 1977, c. 626, s. 1; 1979, c. 539, s. 5; c. 766, s., 2; 1981, c. 33,s. 2; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1265, s. 6; 1983, c. 553; 1985, c. 260, s. 1;1991, c. 363, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1032, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess.,1992), c. 1044, s. 18(a); 1993, c. 74, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762,s. 2; 1995, c. 243, s. 1; 1997‑456, s. 27; 1999‑426, s. 1(a), (b);2001‑315, s. 1; 2001‑319, s. 6(a); 2003‑226, s. 4; 2004‑127,s. 9(a); 2007‑253, s. 2; 2007‑391, s. 16(a); 2008‑150, s.5(d), (e); 2009‑541, s. 10(a).)