NC Senate passes election administration bill extending ballot-cure deadline
House Bill 834 would give voters additional time to correct certain absentee-ballot deficiencies and change judicial review of State Board of Elections decisions.
The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed an amended election-administration bill Tuesday that would extend the deadline for correcting certain absentee-ballot deficiencies and change procedures used by county and state election boards.
House Bill 834, titled “SBOE Administrative Changes,” passed second and third readings on a 42-0 vote July 28. Senate amendments require the legislation to return to the House for concurrence.
The bill would move the deadline for curing qualifying absentee-ballot problems from the third business day after an election to the fifth business day. County election boards would be required to notify a voter by mail no later than the next business day after identifying a missing signature. If a telephone number or email address is available, the board also would have to use that information to contact the voter.
Other provisions address the processing and counting of ballots, election equipment and the transmission of absentee ballots.
The measure also would change where a person could seek judicial review of a State Board of Elections decision. A petition could be filed in Wake County Superior Court or in the superior court of the county where the petitioner resides. The provision would apply to petitions filed on or after the act becomes law.
The legislation contains different proposed implementation dates for different sections. Its absentee-ballot transmission provisions would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Several other election-administration provisions would apply to elections conducted on or after the measure’s effective date.
The Senate vote does not make the bill law. The House must decide whether to agree to the Senate’s revisions. If the chambers approve identical language, the bill would then proceed through the remaining enactment process.
The changes arrive as legislators consider multiple election measures during the General Assembly’s summer session. House Bill 834 is narrower than the separate House Bill 958 election package, concentrating largely on administrative procedures, voter notification and ballot processing.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
