A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the early voting period.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑227.2(b)  reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑227.2.  Alternate procedures for requesting application for absentee ballot; "one‑stop" voting procedure in board office.
…
(b)	Not earlier than the second Thursday before an election, in which absentee ballots are authorized, in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 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. For the general election in November of even‑numbered years on any weekday during that period, one‑stop voting, whether at the office of the county board of elections or at any site under subsection (g) of this section, shall be conducted either between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M. and 6:00 o'clock P.M. or between the hours of 11:00 o'clock A.M. and 7:00 o'clock P.M. A county board of elections shall conduct one‑stop voting (i) for the general election in November of even‑numbered years on the last two Saturdays before the election either between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M. and 4:00 o'clock P.M. or between the hours of 11:00 o'clock A.M. and 5:00 o'clock P.M. and (ii) for any other primary or election on the last Saturday before the primary or election either between the hours of 10:00 o'clock A.M. and 4:00 o'clock P.M. or between the hours of 11:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.  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.
…."
SECTION 2.  This act applies with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2012.