GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 343

Short Title:  Long-Term Absentees.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Dawkins; Beall, N. Crawford, and Bownan.
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Referred to:  Judiciary.
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February 23, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PERMIT A VOTER TO RECEIVE ABSSENTE BALLOTS FOR AN ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR WITH ONE APPLICATION IF THAT PERSON IS UNABLE TO GO TO A VOTING PLACE DUE TO AGE OR INFIRMITY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 163-227 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-227. State Board to prescribe form of application for absentee ballots; county to secure.
(a)	Applications for Absentee Ballots Generally. – A voter falling in any one of the categories defined in G.S. 163-226, 163-226.1 or 163-226.2 may apply for absentee ballots not earlier than 60 days prior to the statewide, county or municipal election in which he seeks to vote and not later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before that election. Subject to all other provisions contained in this Article, a voter applying for an absentee ballot shall complete the standard application form to be secured by the county board of elections, as designed and prescribed by the State Board of Elections.  The form shall contain lines to be checked off by each of the kinds of voters specified below:
(1)	A voter expecting to be absent from the county of his residence all day on the day of the specified election. (G.S. 163-226(a)(1)).
(2)	A voter who is unable to be present at the voting place to vote in person on the day of the specified election because of his sickness or other physical disability occurring before 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday prior to the date of the specified election. (G.S. 163-226(a)(2)). 
(3)	A voter who is unable to be present at the voting place to vote in person on the day of the specified election because of his sickness or other physical disability occurring since 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday prior to the date of the specified election. (G.S. 163-226(a)(2)).
(3a)	A voter who qualifies under G.S. 163-227.4 as a person with a disability that will prevent presence at the polling place over a long term and wishes to receive absentee ballots for all the primaries and elections during the calendar year in which his application is submitted.
(4)	A voter expecting to be absent from the county, or due to emergency disability will be unable to vote in person, or a person who qualifies under G.S. 163-226(a)(4), and who, in lieu of making application by mail, wishes to apply in person and receive a ballot which he may immediately vote in the office of the county board of elections.
(b)	Types of Applications; Instructions. –
(1)	Expected Absence from County on Election Day. – A voter expected to be absent from the county in which registered during the entire period that the polls will be open on primary or general election day, or a near relative, shall make written application for absentee ballots to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the voter is registered not earlier than 60 days nor later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before the election. The application shall be submitted in the form set out in this subdivision upon a copy which shall be furnished the voter or a near relative by the chairman of the county board of elections.
		The applicant shall sign his application personally, or it shall be signed by a near relative. The application shall be signed in the presence of a witness, who shall sign his name in the place provided on the form. The application form when properly filled out shall be transmitted by mail or delivered in person by the applicant or a near relative to the chairman or the supervisor of elections of the county board of elections.
(2)	Absence for Sickness or Physical Disability Occurring before 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday prior to the Primary or General Election. – A voter expecting to be unable to go to the voting place to vote in person on primary or general election day because of his sickness or other physical disability, or his near relative, shall make written application for absentee ballots to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the voter is registered not earlier than 60 days nor later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before the election. The application shall be submitted in the form set out in this subdivision upon a copy which shall be furnished the voter or a near relative by the chairman of the county board of elections.
The application shall be signed by the voter personally, or it shall be signed by a near relative. The application shall be signed in the presence of a witness, who shall sign his name in the place provided on the form.
		The application form, when properly filled out, shall be transmitted by mail or delivered in person by the applicant or a near relative to the chairman or supervisor of elections of the county board of elections of the county in which the applicant is registered.
(3)	Absence for Sickness or Physical Disability Occurring after 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday prior to Primary or General Election. – A voter expecting to be unable to go to the voting place to vote in person on primary or general election day because of sickness or other disability occurring after 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before the election, or a near relative, shall make written application for absentee ballots to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which he is registered not later than 12:00 noon on the day preceding the election. The application shall be submitted in the form set out in this subdivision upon a copy which shall be furnished the voter or a near relative by the chairman of the county board of elections.
		The chairman of the county board of elections shall not issue or accept an application under the provisions of this subdivision later than 12:00 noon on the day preceding the election in which the voter seeks to vote.
		The application shall be signed by the voter personally, or it shall be signed by a near relative. The application shall be signed in the presence of a witness who shall sign his name in the place provided on the form.
		The certificate printed on the application form below the signatures of the applicant and his subscribing witness shall be filled in and signed in the presence of a witness by a licensed physician who is attending the applicant. The witness to the physician's certificate shall sign his name in the place provided on the form.
		The application form, when properly filled out, signed by or for the applicant in the presence of a subscribing witness as provided in this subdivision, and certified and signed by the attending physician in the presence of a subscribing witness, may be transmitted by mail to the chairman or supervisor of elections of the board of elections of the county in which the applicant is registered, or it may be delivered to the chairman or supervisor of elections in person by the applicant or by his near relative.
(3a)	Absence for Age or Infirmity Preventing Presence at Voting Place Over Long Term. A voter falling in the category specified in G.S. 163-227.4, or his near relative, shall make written application for absentee ballots to the chairman of the county board of elections of the county in which the voter is registered. The application shall be in the form set out in this section, and the voter or near relative shall check the appropriate box indicating eligibility under G.S. 163-227.4 and a desire to receive absentee ballots in all primaries and elections during the calendar year in which the application is received. The chairman of the county board of elections shall furnish a copy of the form to the voter or near relative. The voter shall sign the application personally, or it shall be signed by a near relative. The application shall be signed in the presence of a witness, who shall sign his name in the place provided on the form.
		In his request for an application, the voter or his near relative shall certify that the voter is, due to age or infirmity, unable to be present at the polling place over a long term. The county board of elections shall provide certification forms for that purpose.
The application made under the provisions of this subdivision may be submitted and, if sufficient, shall be accepted at any time, but approval shall not entitle the applicant to vote in the next primary or election if the application is submitted later than 5:00 P.M. on the Tuesday before that primary or election.
		The application form, when properly filled out and signed by or for the applicant in the presence of a subscribing witness as provided in this subdivision, may be transmitted by mail to the chairman or supervisor of elections of the board of elections of the county in which the applicant is registered, or it may be delivered to the chairman or supervisor of elections in person by the applicant or by his near relative.
(4)	‘One-Stop' Voting Procedure, in Office of the County Board of Elections. – A voter falling in the category specified in G.S. 163-227.2 may execute an application form and proceed to vote his absentee ballot in the office of the county board of elections only.
(c)	Application Forms Issued by Chairman of County Board of Elections. – The chairman of the county board of elections shall be sole custodian of all absentee ballot application forms, but he, the secretary of the board and the supervisor of elections of the board, in accordance with one of the following two procedures, shall issue and deliver a single application form, upon request, to a person authorized to sign such an application under the provisions of this section:
(1)	The chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections may deliver the form to a voter personally or to his near relative at the office of the county board of elections for the voter's own use; or
(2)	The chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections may mail the form to a voter for his own use upon receipt of a written request from the voter or his near relative.
At the time he issues an application form, the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections of the county board of elections shall number it and write the name of the voter in the space provided therefor at the top of the form. At the same time the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections shall insert the name of the voter and the number assigned his application in the register of absentee ballot applications and ballots issued provided for in G.S. 163-228. If the application is requested by the voter's near relative, the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections also shall insert that person's name in the register after the name of the voter.
		The chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections shall issue only one application form to a voter or his near relative unless a form previously issued is returned to the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections and marked ‘Void' by him. In such a situation, the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections may issue another application form to the voter or a near relative, but he shall retain the voided application form in the board's records. If the application is requested by the voter's near relative, the chairman, secretary or supervisor of elections shall write the name of the near relative on the index of near relatives, applying for applications for absentee ballots; the index shall be in such form as may be prescribed or approved by the State Board of Elections; a separate index shall be maintained for each primary, general or special election in which absentee voting is allowed.
(3)	Applications or Absentee Ballots Transmitted by Mail or in Person. – An application for absentee ballots shall be made and signed only by the voter desiring to use them or the voter's near relative or legal guardian and shall be valid only when transmitted to the chairman or supervisor of elections of the county board of elections by mail or delivered in person by the voter or his near relative or legal guardian.
(4)	Who Is Authorized to Request Applications for Absentee Ballots. – A voter may personally request an application for absentee ballots or may cause such request to be made through a near relative or legal guardian. For the purpose of this Article, ‘near relative or legal guardian' means spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, or grandchild.
(5)	The form of application for persons applying to vote in a primary under the provisions of this section shall be as designed and prescribed by the State Board of Elections. No voter shall be furnished ballots for voting in a primary except the ballots for candidates for nomination in the primary of the political party with which he is affiliated at the time he makes application for absentee ballots. The official registration records of the county in which the voter is registered shall be proof of the party, if any, with which the voter is affiliated.
(6)	The county board of elections shall cause to be stamped or printed on the face of each application for absentee ballots the following legend, and the blank space in the legend to be completed:
	‘This application is issued for absentee ballots to be voted in the ________ (primary or general or special election) to be held in ______________ County on the ________________ day of ________, 19 ____.' The county board of elections shall not issue any absentee ballots on the basis of any application that does not bear the completed legend; Provided, however, that this sentence does not apply to applications issued to voters who qualify under G.S. 163-227.4.
(7)	No applications shall be issued earlier than 60 days prior to the election in which the voter wishes to vote, except for applications issued to voters who qualify under G.S. 163-227.4. Nothing herein shall prohibit the county board of elections from receiving written requests for applications earlier than 60 days prior to the election but such applications shall not be mailed or issued to the voter in person earlier than 60 days prior to the election.
(8)	Applications for absentee ballots shall be issued only by mail or in the office of the county board of elections to the voter or a near relative or legal guardian authorized to make application. No election official shall issue applications for absentee ballots except in compliance with the provisions stated herein.”
Sec. 2. Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 163-227.4. Voter who due to age or infirmity is unable to be present at a voting place over a long term; applications for continuous issuance of absentee ballots over a calendar year.  
A voter who due to age or infirmity is unable to be present at a voting place over a long term may apply according to the procedure set out in G.S. 163-227(a)(3a) and (b)(3a) to receive absentee ballots for all elections during the calendar year in which his application is submitted. Except as otherwise provided in 163-227(b)(3a) and unless otherwise disqualified to vote, the voter upon approval of his application shall automatically be issued absentee ballots  for all primaries and elections during the calendar year in which he submits his application. The county board of elections shall consider the voter's completing the procedure set out in 163-227(a)(3a) and (b)(3a) to be a separate application for each primary and election during the calendar year and, at the proper time, shall enter the voter's name in the absentee register along with the listing of other applicants for absentee ballots in each primary and election."
Sec. 3. G.S. 163-229(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Container-Return Envelope. – In time for use not later than 50 days before a statewide primary, general election or county bond election, the county board of elections shall print a sufficient number of envelopes in which persons casting absentee ballots may transmit their marked ballots to the chairman of the county board of elections. Each container-return envelope shall be printed in accordance with the following instructions:
(1)	On one side shall be printed an identified space in which shall be inserted the application number of the voter and the following statement which shall be certified by one member of the county board of elections:

‘Certification of Election Official 

		The undersigned election official does by his hand and seal certify that......... is a registered and qualified voter of .................. County, Precinct # .......... and has made proper application to vote under the Absentee Ballot Law of North Carolina.
	 ........................(Seal)
	Chairman-Member'
(2)	On the other side shall be printed the return address of the chairman of the county board of elections and the following certificate:
‘Certificate of Absentee or Sick Voter
	State of .....................................
	County of ....................................
	I, ............., do certify that I am a resident and registered voter in ........ precinct, .............. County, North Carolina; that on the day of an election, ............., 19 .... (check whichever of the following statements is correct.)
	[]  I will be absent from the county in which I reside.
	[]  Due to sickness or physical disability, or incarceration as a misdemeanant, I will be unable to travel to the voting place in the precinct in which I reside.
	[]  Due to age or infirmity I am unable to be present at the voting place in the precinct in which I reside for a long term.
	I further certify that I made application for absentee ballots, and that I marked the ballots enclosed herein, or that they were marked for me in my presence and according to my instructions.  I understand it is a felony to falsely sign this certificate.

	(Signature of voter)                     

Signature of Witness #1	Signature of Witness #2    

Address of Witness #1	Address of Witness #2'"
Sec. 4. This act shall become effective with respect to all primaries and elections held on or after January 1, 1990.