North Carolina HB 580: State Board of Elections Legislative Changes.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 580

Short Title: SBOE Legislative Changes.-AB (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Dahle, Baker, Buansi, and Rubin (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 1, 2025
*H580-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS ELECTIONS LAW CHANGES, AS RECOMMENDED BY 2
THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
5
PART I. PRESERVING CONFIDENTIALITY OF ABSENTEE REQUESTERS 6
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 163-228(c) reads as rewritten: 7
"(c) The official register required by this section section, along with any other information 8
in the possession of the State Board or a county board which would disclose that an identifiable 9
voter has requested an absentee ballot, shall be confidential and not a public record until the 10
opening of the voting place in accordance with G.S. 163-166.25, at which time the official 11
register these records shall constitute a public record.public records, unless otherwise protected 12
from disclosure by law." 13
SECTION 1.2. G.S. 163-233(b) reads as rewritten: 14
"(b) The county board of elections shall create a list of applications made for absentee 15
ballots received and approved by the county board, which shall be updated daily from the date 16
the county board begins to mail application and ballots through the date of canvass. Such list 17
shall be a public record." 18
19
PART II. REVISIONS TO BALLOT COUNTING PROCEDURES 20
SECTION 2.1. G.S. 163-182.2(a), as amended by Section 3A.4(e) of S.L. 2024-57, 21
reads as rewritten: 22
"(a) The initial counting of official ballots cast on election day and under Part 5 of Article 23
14A of this Chapter shall be conducted according to the following principles: 24
(1) Vote counting of ballots cast at the precinct on election day shall occur 25
immediately after the polls close and shall be continuous until completed. If 26
ballots cast under Part 5 of Article 14A of this Chapter are counted 27
electronically, that count shall commence at the time the polls close. If ballots 28
cast under Part 5 of Article 14A of this Chapter are paper ballots counted 29
manually, that count shall commence at the same time as mail-in absentee 30
ballots cast under Article 20 or Article 21A of this Chapter are counted.Vote 31
counting of ballots cast during early voting shall commence at 5:00 P.M. on 32
election day. Vote counting of ballots cast during early voting may commence 33
between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on election day upon the 34
adoption of a resolution at least two days before the election in which the hour 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 580-First Edition
and place of counting the ballots shall be stated. A copy of the resolution shall 1
be posted on the county board's website and distributed to all persons required 2
to receive notice under G.S. 143-318.12(b)(2). The county board shall not 3
announce the result of the count before 7:30 P.M. on election day. 4
... 5
(4) If the county board finds that an individual voting a provisional official ballot 6
(i) was registered in the county as provided in 163-82.1, (ii) voted in the proper 7
precinct under G.S. 163-55 and G.S. 163-57, and (iii) was otherwise eligible 8
to vote, the provisional official ballots shall be counted by the county board 9
no later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day after the election. County 10
boards may review for approval provisional ballots cast during early voting 11
and take preparatory steps for the count before election day with the same 12
procedures used for absentee ballots under G.S. 163-234(3), so long as the 13
preparatory steps do not reveal to any individual not engaged in the actual 14
count election results before 7:30 P.M. on election day. Except as provided in 15
G.S. 163-82.15(e), if the county board finds that an individual voting a 16
provisional official ballot (i) did not vote in the proper precinct under 17
G.S. 163-55 and G.S. 163-57, (ii) is not registered in the county as provided 18
in G.S. 163-82.1, or (iii) is otherwise not eligible to vote, the ballot shall not 19
be counted. If a voter was properly registered to vote in the election by the 20
county board, no mistake of an election official in giving the voter a ballot or 21
in failing to comply with G.S. 163-82.15 or G.S. 163-166.11 shall serve to 22
prevent the counting of the vote on any ballot item the voter was eligible by 23
registration and qualified by residency to vote. When an individual has voted 24
a provisional official ballot after completing an affidavit under 25
G.S. 163-166.16(d), and the county board has not found the affidavit to be 26
valid by the time specified in this subdivision for counting provisional ballots 27
because the county board has grounds to believe the affidavit is false