NC Elections Board Wants Easier Mail Voting, Along With State Holiday For Election Day
The State Board of Elections on Thursday asked legislative leaders and Gov. Roy Cooper to make it easier for people to vote absentee by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Elections executive director Karen Brinson Bell asked that voters be allowed to request mail ballots through an online portal, and to allow them to return ballot request forms by fax or email. Right now, voters must return ballot request forms by mail or deliver them to a county elections office in person.
She also requested that the state eliminate the requirement that a mail ballot be witnessed by two people or a notary. Because of social distancing, Brinson Bell recommended that the state require only one witness or eliminate the witness requirement altogether, which would “further reduce risk.”
She also asked that the state pay for postage to make it easier for people to return mail ballots.
The state is worried that it won’t have enough poll workers to staff precincts because most of the workers are elderly – a segment of the population that’s vulnerable to COVID-19.
She suggested the state make the November election day a state holiday, which would “expand the potential pool of poll workers to students, teachers, and younger individuals.”
https://www.wfae.org/post/nc-elections-board-wants-easier-mail-voting-along-state-holiday-election-day#stream/0
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