Voter Suppression

State Board of Elections: Proposed Rules on Absentee Voting
AND
NC Legislature: Decreasing Early Voting

Hello Indivisible Citizens of Catawba Valley,

It’s another Take Action Tuesday from the ICCV Legislative Committee with our ongoing focus on efforts by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) to suppress voting, this time with discussion about rules related to absentee voting. At the same time, Senator Mark Hollo (R-Caldwell, Catawba) joined two other members of the North Carolina Senate to propose a decrease in the state’s most popular voting method, early voting, from 17 days to 10 days. https://ncnewsline.com/2026/05/21/nc-republican-senators-propose-cuts-to-the-states-most-popular-voting-method/   

Both efforts will harm North Carolina voters. Both are simply efforts at voter suppression. 

As you may recall, the NCSBE previously passed a set of rules directed at non-citizen voting, a solution to a problem that does not exist.  https://www.indivisibleccv.org/february-24-2026 Those rules will go before the Rules Review Commission on May 28 and likely will be passed. There is a protest process in place to ask that they be sent to the legislature. We will continue to monitor and work with our partners on this effort. 

Now the NCSBE has released 4 new sets of rules for public comment. The comment period began on May 15 and runs through July 14. Last week we discussed the rules related to Photo Identification. https://www.indivisibleccv.org/may-19-2026

We will focus our WHAT TO DO section this week on the set of rules addressing Absentee Ballots and on the proposed legislation to reduce the number of days of early voting, S 1084.  https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S1084

Next week, we will discuss the remaining proposed rules, Voting Sites and Conduct of Vote Recounts by County Boards of Elections.

WHAT TO DO

1.     Please feel free to share this information with your family and friends. 

2.     Submit written comments to the NCSBE now through July 14, 2026. We recommend you go to the NCSBE website at https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2026/05/14/state-board-welcomes-public-comments-four-sets-proposed-election-rules-0  to review the proposed rules. See HOW TO DO IT. 

3.     Contact your state legislators (see HOW TO DO IT below) and tell them that shortening the early voting period is another form of voter suppression. https://ncnewsline.com/2026/05/21/nc-republican-senators-propose-cuts-to-the-states-most-popular-voting-method/   Tell them that access to early voting is important to you. According to the NC League of Women Voters, almost ¾ of North Carolinians voted early in the 2024 general election. Early voting allows voters to correct registration or photo ID issues, as well as spreading out traffic at polling locations to avoid long lines. It also provides flexibility for working parents, caregivers, and others who have responsibilities that make voting more difficult. https://my.lwv.org/north-carolina-state/action-alert/action-alert-protect-early-voting-access-north-carolina

HOW TO DO IT

Submit a WRITTEN  comment to the NCSBE objecting to the proposed rules before July 14 by any of the following mechanisms: 

●      Online via the Public Portal: https://www.ncsbe.gov/public-comment-portal-2026-rulemaking-absentee-voting The portal is a little clunky in that you can only address 1 of the  rules at a time, meaning you could have to submit up to 6 comments. 08 NCAC 18.0505 seems the most egregious. If you only have time to address one rule, please do this one. 

●      Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov (Note: Commenter should identify the specific rule being commented on.)

●      Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 (Note: Commenter should identify the specific rule being commented on.)

FYI: The in-person public hearing on this set of rules will be held on June 22, at 10:00 AM in the Board Room at the State Board of Elections, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603. 

It is strongly suggested that you put comments into your own words as much as possible, to ensure that each comment is counted individually. Sample letter here: https://democracync.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NCSBE-Sample-Comment-_-Proposed-Rules-on-Absentee-Ballots-1.pdf

To find and contact your state legislators, go to

https://www.ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators

Enter your home address to link to contacts for your NC Senator and Representative.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Absentee voting by mail is becoming more popular. According to a report by the United States Election Assistance Commission, in 2024, nearly 1/3 of all votes cast were absentee by mail ballots. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/2024_EAVS_Report_508.pdf (Figure 4, page 11)

People from all demographics and all party affiliations vote by mail. Absentee voting is secure, convenient, and increases participation. Older Americans, the disabled, working parents – all would be most harmed. https://statesunited.org/resources/americans-vote-by-mail-2024/

The process for absentee by mail voting in North Carolina is already complex. The proposed rules would make it more difficult for voters to correct three common innocent mistakes:  failing to seal the inner ballot envelope, placing the ballot in the wrong envelope, and two voters at the same address accidentally swapping their ballots. In each case, the intent of the voter is clear. Numbered memo 2021-03 https://dl.ncsbe.gov/sboe/numbermemo/2021/Numbered%20Memo%202021-03_Absentee%20Deficiencies.pdfalready provides a mechanism for county boards to use common sense to determine that a ballot that arrives in a sealed envelope is not deficient. 

Thank you for everything you do to protect our democracy! 

ICCV Legislative Committee                                                                                                               

“With Liberty and Justice for ALL”