BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to reform north carolina's voting process.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑82.6A is repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑59 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑59.  Right to participate or vote in party primary.
No person shall be entitled to vote or otherwise participate in the primary election of any political party unless that person complies with all of the following:
(1)	Is a registered voter.
(2)	Has declared and has had recorded on the registration book or record the fact that the voter affiliates with the political party in whose primary the voter proposes to vote or participate.
(3)	Is in good faith a member of that party.
Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, any unaffiliated voter who is authorized under G.S. 163‑119 may also vote in the primary if the voter is otherwise eligible to vote in that primary except for subdivisions (2) and (3) of the previous paragraph.
Any person who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, even though not so qualified by the date of the primary, shall be entitled to register for the primary and general election prior to the primary and then to vote in the primary after being registered. Such person may register not earlier than 60 days nor later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6(c) prior to the primary. In addition, persons who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, who do not register during the special period may register to vote after such period as if they were qualified on the basis of age, but until they are qualified by age to vote, they may vote only in primary elections."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑82.6(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Registration Deadlines for a Primary or Election. – In order to be valid for a primary or election, the form:
(1)	If submitted by mail, must be postmarked at least 25 days before the primary or 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 primary or election,
(2)	If submitted in person, by facsimile transmission, or by transmission of a scanned document, 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 primary or 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 primary or election, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑166.12(b2) reads as rewritten:
"(b2)	Voting When Identification Numbers Do Not Match. – Regardless of whether an individual has registered by mail or by another method, if the individual has provided with the registration form a drivers license number or last four digits of a Social Security number but the computer validation of the number as required by G.S. 163‑82.12 did not result in a match, and the number has not been otherwise validated by the board of elections, in the first election in which the individual votes that individual shall submit with the ballot the form of identification described in subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section, depending upon whether the ballot is voted in person or absentee. If that identification is provided and the board of elections does not determine that the individual is otherwise ineligible to vote a ballot, the failure of identification numbers to match shall not prevent that individual from registering to vote and having that individual's vote counted."
SECTION 5.   G.S. 163‑227.2(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Any voter eligible to vote by absentee ballot under G.S. 163‑226 may request an application for absentee ballots, complete the application, and vote under the provisions of this section."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 163‑283 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑283.  Right to participate or vote in party primary.
No person shall be entitled to vote or otherwise participate in the primary election of any political party unless that person complies with all of the following:
(1)	Is a registered voter.
(2)	Has declared and has had recorded on the registration book or record the fact that the voter affiliates with the political party in whose primary the voter proposes to vote or participate.
(3)	Is in good faith a member of that party.
Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, any unaffiliated voter who is authorized under G.S. 163‑119 may also vote in the primary if the voter is otherwise eligible to vote in that primary except for subdivisions (2) and (3) of the previous paragraph.
Any person who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, even though not so qualified by the date of the primary election, shall be entitled to register while the registration books are open during the regular registration period prior to the primary and then to vote in the primary after being registered, provided however, under full‑time and permanent registration, such an individual may register not earlier than 60 days nor later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6(c) prior to the primary. In addition, persons who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, who do not register during the special period may register to vote after such period as if they were qualified on the basis of age, but until they are qualified by age to vote, they may vote only in primary elections."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 163‑283.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑283.1.  Voting in nonpartisan primary.
Any person who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which a nonpartisan primary is held, even though not so qualified by the date of the primary, shall be entitled to register for the primary and general election prior to the primary and then to vote in the primary after being registered. Such a person may register not earlier than 60 days nor later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6(c) prior to the primary."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 163‑330 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑330.  Voting in primary.
Any person who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, even though not so qualified by the date of the primary, shall be entitled to register for the primary and general election prior to the primary and then to vote in the primary after being registered. Such person may register not earlier than 60 days nor later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6(c) prior to the primary."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 163‑227.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(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 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. 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 10.(a)  G.S. 163‑227.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑227.3.  Date by which absentee ballots must be available for voting.
(a)	A board of elections shall provide absentee ballots of the kinds needed 60 days prior to the statewide general election in even‑numbered years and 50 days prior to the date on which any other election shall be conducted, unless 45 days is authorized by the State Board of Elections under G.S. 163‑22(k) or there shall exist an appeal before the State Board or the courts not concluded, in which case the board shall provide the ballots as quickly as possible upon the conclusion of such an appeal. Provided, in a presidential election year, the board of elections shall provide general election ballots no later than three days after certification of the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees if that certification occurs later than 57 days prior to the statewide general election and makes compliance with the 60‑day deadline impossible. However, in the case of municipal elections, absentee ballots shall be made available no later than 30 days before an election. In every instance the board of elections shall exert every effort to provide absentee ballots, of the kinds needed by the date on which absentee voting is authorized to commence.
(b)	Second Primary. – The board of elections shall provide absentee ballots, of the kinds needed, as quickly as possible after the ballot information for a second primary has been determined."
SECTION 10.(b)  G.S. 163‑258.9(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Not later than 60 days before the statewide general election in even‑numbered years and not later than 50 days before any other election, the county board of elections shall transmit a ballot and balloting materials to all covered voters who by that date submit a valid military‑overseas ballot application, except for a second primary. Provided, in a presidential election year, the board of elections shall provide general election ballots no later than three days after certification of the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees if that certification occurs later than 57 days prior to the statewide general election and makes compliance with the 60‑day deadline impossible. However, in the case of municipal elections, absentee ballots shall be made available no later than 30 days before an election. For a second primary which includes a candidate for federal office, the county board of elections shall transmit a ballot and balloting material to all covered voters who by that date submit a valid military‑overseas ballot application no later than 45 days before the second primary. For a second primary which does not include a candidate for federal office, the transmission of the ballot and ballot materials shall be as soon as practicable and shall be transmitted electronically no later than three business days and by mail no later than 15 days from the date the appropriate board of elections orders that the second primary be held pursuant to G.S. 163‑111. If additional offices are added to the ballot to fill a vacancy occurring after the deadline provided by this subsection, those ballots shall be transmitted as soon as practicable."
SECTION 11.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2014, and applies with respect to elections held on or after that date.