Sample ballot for Election 2020 can be found on the NCBOE website, where you can also check your registration and if you voted absentee if your vote has been received and counted. Photo by WCJ.
More than ever, voters across North Carolina and the country will have to rely on voting via absentee ballot, or mail-in-voting. Compared to this time in 2016, there have been nearly 15 times as many absentee ballot requests statewide and that margin will likely increase as the Oct. 27 deadline to request a ballot nears.
The process for voting by mail is relatively simple, but it does require voters to be somewhat proactive. The first step is to request an absentee ballot either through the State Board of Elections online portal or download and print an absentee ballot form. Those who download the request form will have to deliver it to the County Board of Elections Office in-person or by mail, email, or fax. Those who are unable to use the online portal or download and print an absentee ballot request form can ask for it over the phone and their County Board will mail them a blank form.
North Carolina was the first state in the country that started mailing absentee ballots on Sept. 4. Once received, the ballot should have all the information needed to cast their vote. It is worth noting that a witness will have to sign the ballot in order for it to be valid. Additionally, the voter must sign it and seal it themselves.
The County Board of Election (CBOE) must receive the ballot, or it must be postmarked by 5 p.m. on Nov. 3, the election day. Voters can return it by mail, in-person to the CBOE or deliver it in person to an early voting site between Oct. 15 and Oct. 31. For more about absentee ballots, click here.
Absentee voting will be an essential practice during this election because of the coronavirus. However, many conservative candidates have cast doubt toward their populous about mail-in voting. The message has been consistent from President Trump all the way down to the NC State House candidate Mike Clampitt.
“I encourage able-bodied individuals to vote in person if possible,” Clampitt said in an interview with WCJ.
The main concern among conservatives is voter fraud and inefficient counting.
Jackson County BOE Director Lisa Lovedahl explained in an email message that to maintain the accuracy of the absentee ballot count, the Board will have five meetings where the members of the Board will review, approve and scan ballots. The Ballots will be secured after each meeting.
“All scanned absentee ballots from absentee meetings will be combined and totaled, then released on election day after the polls close,” said Lovedahl.
“The [BOE] processed 553 absentee ballots for the 2016 election, and 279 absentee ballots for the 2018 election,” said Lovedahl.
Additionally, there is a controversy over the post office’s ability to handle the increased volume of voting mail. Louis DeJoy became Postmaster General back in June. There were concerns that the postal service may be de-funded to the point it could not handle the surge of mail from absentee ballots.
The U.S. Postal Service warned officials in North Carolina and other states that late deadlines for absentee voting mean voters who wait to request and send back their ballots may come too late to be counted. In the same story from WRAL, the official recommends the ballots to be returned at least 15 days before the Nov. 3 election, “and preferably long before that time.”
To learn more about this, click here. To learn more about the overall decline in funding for the post-office, click here.
With absentee-ballot requests expected to be over 8,000 in Jackson County this year, WCJ reached out to the Postmaster in Sylva to see if the postal service was prepared to handle the influx.
“Everything is business as usual here. When mail comes in, it goes out,” said Jackson County Postmaster, Reagan Mathis, in Sylva. He then refused to offer any further comment nor give his name to WCJ. “I don’t want to mess with any of that, leave me out of it. No comment.”
WCJ also contacted the Cullowhee post office. The workers there confirmed that they are able to handle the influx of mail but mentioned that they had been stretched thinner than in the past. The employees at the location told WCJ the name of the Sylva Postmaster. WCJ re-contacted the Sylva location and confirmed that Mathis was who had previously spoken to WCJ.
To learn more about how slowing mail delivery can impact the election, click here.
This story was written as a part of the 2020 Election Coverage Class.
