A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for in‑person registration and voting at early voting sites and at central sites on election day; and to provide for adequate identification requirements for persons registering and voting on the same day to protect against fraud; and to appropriate funds for implementing and monitoring the program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑82.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑82.6.  Acceptance of voter registration application forms.
(a)	How the Form May Be Submitted. – The county board of elections shall accept any form described in G.S. 163‑82.3 if the applicant submits the form by mail, facsimile transmission, or in person. The applicant may delegate the submission of the form to another person. Any person who communicates to an applicant acceptance of that delegation shall deliver that form so that it is received by the appropriate county board of elections in time to satisfy the registration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section for the next election. It shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to communicate to the applicant acceptance of that delegation and then fail to make a good faith effort to deliver the form so that it is received by the county board of elections in time to satisfy the registration deadline in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section for the next election. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of failing to make a good faith effort to deliver a delegated form by the registration deadline that the delegatee informed the applicant that the form would not likely be delivered in time for the applicant to vote in the next election. It shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to sell or attempt to sell a completed voter registration form or to condition its delivery upon payment.
(b)	Signature. – The form shall be valid only if signed by the applicant.
(c)	Registration Deadlines for an Election. – In order to be valid for an election, except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, the form:
(1)	If submitted by mail, must be postmarked at least 25 days before the election, except that any mailed application on which the postmark is missing or unclear is validly submitted if received in the mail not later than 20 days before the election,
(2)	If submitted in person or by facsimile transmission, must be received by the county board of elections by a time established by that board, but no earlier than 5:00 P.M., on the twenty‑fifth day before the election,
(3)	If submitted through a delegatee who violates the duty set forth in subsection (a) of this section, must be signed by the applicant and given to the delegatee not later than 25 days before the  election.
(c1)	If the application is submitted by facsimile transmission, a permanent copy of the completed, signed form shall be delivered to the county board no later than 20 days before the election.

(f)	In-Person Registration and Voting. – An individual who is qualified to register to vote may register in person and then vote at one of the following times and places in that individual's county of residence:
(1)	At a one-stop voting site in that county during the period for one-stop voting provided under G.S. 163-227.2.
(2)	At a central site in that county provided for in-person registration and voting on election day.
The central site or sites in a county for in-person registration and voting on election day shall be determined by the same process as one-stop voting sites are determined under G.S. 163-227.2. Each county shall have at least one site. They need not be the same sites as the one-stop voting sites for the same election.
The State Board of Elections and the county boards of elections shall provide to the maximum extent practical electronic access to an updated statewide voter registration database and the North Carolina drivers license database at each site where in-person registration and voting take place. The county board shall staff those sites with personnel capable of using the equipment to conduct in-person registration and voting with competence and integrity.
To register under this subsection, the person shall provide proof of identity and residence and shall complete a registration form which includes signing a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the person is a citizen of the United States and resides at the address given. The presentation of any of the following valid documents that show the name and address of the person shall suffice as proof of identity and residence: A North Carolina drivers license, photo identification from a government agency, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document. The State Board of Elections may designate additional documents or methods that suffice and shall prescribe procedures for establishing proof of identity and residence.
An individual who registers in person under this subsection must vote immediately after registering. The county board of elections shall ensure that the individual is informed of this requirement before registering. If an individual who has registered under this subsection declines to vote immediately, the registration shall be cancelled, but that individual may later register and vote under this subsection in the same election.
An election-day vote cast immediately after registration under this subsection shall be treated as a one-stop absentee ballot, except that as to the timing of counting the ballots, the State Board of Elections shall prescribe procedures so that complete returns will be available promptly after the polls close.
The county board of elections shall proceed under G.S. 163-82.7 to verify the qualifications and address of every individual who registers under this subsection. The individual's vote shall be counted, unless the county board determines under G.S. 163‑82.7(b) that the applicant is not qualified to vote at the address given. Appeals in sufficient number from those denials may be grounds for an election protest under Article 15A of this Chapter. Denials of registration in sufficient number based on lack of verification of address under G.S. 163-82.7(f) may be grounds for an election protest under Article 15A of this Chapter."
SECTION 2.  The State Board of Elections shall provide counties with the access to the databases described in G.S. 163‑82.6(f), monitor the implementation of this act, analyze its use in the counties during 2004, and determine the feasibility and timetable for expanding election‑day registration and voting to all voting places. The State Board shall report its findings no later than March 1, 2005, to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations of the General Assembly. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Elections for the 2003‑2004 fiscal year the sum of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) for this purpose.
SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective June 15, 2004, and shall apply to all primaries and elections held on or after that date. The remainder of this act becomes effective July 1, 2003.