North Carolina SB 323: Observers at Polls.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 688
SENATE BILL 323

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT OBSERVERS AT A PRECINCT'S VOTING PLACE
NEED NOT BE REGISTERED VOTERS IN THAT PRECINCT BUT SHALL BE
REGISTERED VOTERS IN THE COUNTY AND TO AMEND THE LAW
GOVERNING ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. G.S. 163-45 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-45. Observers; appointment.
The chairman of each political party in the county shall have the right to designate
two observers to attend each voting place at each primary and election and such
observers may, at the option of the designating party chairman, be relieved during the
day of the primary or election after serving no less than four hours and provided the list
required by this section to be filed by each chairman contains the names of all persons
authorized to represent such chairman's political party. Not more than two observers
from the same political party shall be permitted in the voting enclosure at any time.
This right shall not extend to the chairman of a political party during a primary unless
that party is participating in the primary. In any election in which an unaffiliated
candidate is named on the ballot, he or his campaign manager shall have the right to
appoint two observers for each voting place consistent with the provisions specified
herein. Persons appointed as observers must be registered voters of the precinct county
for which appointed and must have good moral character. Observers shall take no oath
of office.
Individuals authorized to appoint observers must submit in writing to the chief judge
of each precinct a signed list of the observers appointed for that precinct. Individuals
authorized to appoint observers must, prior to 10:00 A.M. on the fifth day prior to any
primary or general election, submit in writing to the chairman of the county board of
elections two signed copies of a list of observers appointed by them, designating the
precinct for which each observer is appointed. Before the opening of the voting place
on the day of a primary or general election, the chairman shall deliver one copy of the
list to the chief judge for each affected precinct. He shall retain the other copy. The
chairman, or the chief judge and judges for each affected precinct, may for good cause
reject any appointee and require that another be appointed. The names of any persons
appointed in place of those persons rejected shall be furnished in writing to the chief
judge of each affected precinct no later than the time for opening the voting place on the
day of any primary or general election, either by the chairman of the county board of
elections or the person making the substitute appointment.

Page 2 S.L. 1995-688 Senate Bill 323
An observer shall do no electioneering at the voting place, and he shall in no manner
impede the voting process or interfere or communicate with or observe any voter in
casting his ballot, but, subject to these restrictions, the chief judge and judges of
elections shall permit him to make such observation and take such notes as he may
desire.
Whether or not the observer attends to the polls for the requisite time provided by
this section, each observer shall be entitled to obtain at times specified by the State
Board of Elections, but not less than three times during election day with the spacing
not less than one hour apart, a list of the persons who have voted in the precinct so far in
that election day. Counties that use an "authorization to vote document" instead of poll
books may comply with the requirement in the previous sentence by permitting each
observer to inspect election records so that the observer may create a list of persons who
have voted in the precinct so far that election day; each observer shall be entitled to
make the inspection at times specified by the State Board of Elections, but not less than
three times during election day with the spacing not less than one hour apart.”
Sec. 2. G.S. 163-82.10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-82.10. Official record of voter registration.
(a) Application Form Becomes Official Record. – A completed and signed
registration application form described in G.S. 163-82.3, once approved by the county
board of elections, becomes the official registration record of the voter. The county
board of elections shall maintain custody of the official registration records of all voters
in the county and shall keep them in a place where they are secure.
(b) Access to Registration Records. – Upon request by that person, the county
board of elections shall provide to any person a list of the registered voters of the county
or of any precinct or precincts in the county. The county board may furnish selective
lists according to party affiliation, gender, race, date of registration, precinct name,
precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district,
and, where applicable, county commissioner distr