Bill Text: NC H188 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Early Voting on Weekends
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-04 - Ref to the Com on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House, if favorable, Elections [H188 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-H188-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
H 1
HOUSE BILL 188
Short Title: Early Voting on Weekends. |
(Public) |
|
Sponsors: |
Representatives Farmer‑Butterfield and Pierce (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, if favorable, Elections. |
|
March 4, 2013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to mandate a minimum amount of early voting on weekends.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 163‑227.2(b) and (f) read as rewritten:
"(b) Not earlier than the third Thursday before an
election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to
vote and not later than 1:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election,
the voter shall appear in person only at the office of the county board of
elections, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section. A county board
of elections shall conduct one‑stop voting on the last Saturday before
the election until 1:00 P.M. and may conduct it until 5:00 P.M. on that Saturday.
Saturday, except that during each of the first primary and general elections in
even‑numbered years the county board of elections shall conduct at least
20 hours of one‑stop voting in total between Saturday and Sundays, with
not less than six nor more than eight of those 20 hours on the final Saturday. That
voter shall enter the voting enclosure at the board office through the
appropriate entrance and shall at once state his or her name and place of
residence to an authorized member or employee of the board. In a primary
election, the voter shall also state the political party with which the voter
affiliates and in whose primary the voter desires to vote, or if the voter is
an unaffiliated voter permitted to vote in the primary of a particular party
under G.S. 163‑119, the voter shall state the name of the
authorizing political party in whose primary he wishes to vote. The board
member or employee to whom the voter gives this information shall announce the
name and residence of the voter in a distinct tone of voice. After examining
the registration records, an employee of the board shall state whether the
person seeking to vote is duly registered. If the voter is found to be
registered that voter may request that the authorized member or employee of the
board furnish the voter with an application form as specified in G.S. 163‑227.
The voter shall complete the application in the presence of the authorized
member or employee of the board, and shall deliver the application to that
person.
…
(f) Notwithstanding the exception specified in G.S. 163‑36,
counties which operate a modified full‑time office shall remain open five
days each week during regular business hours consistent with daily hours
presently observed by the county board of elections, commencing with the date
prescribed in G.S. 163‑227.2(b) and continuing until 5:00 P.M. on
the Friday prior to that election and shall also be open on the last Saturday
before the election. election, and during each of the first primary
and general elections in even‑numbered years the county board of
elections shall conduct at least 20 hours of one‑stop voting in total
between Saturday and Sundays, with not less than six nor more than eight of
those 20 hours on the final Saturday. A county board may conduct one‑stop
absentee voting during evenings or on weekends, as long as the hours are part
of a plan submitted and approved according to subsection (g) of this section.
The boards of county commissioners shall provide necessary funds for the
additional operation of the office during that time."
SECTION 2. This act is effective with respect to primaries and elections conducted on or after January 1, 2014.