President Donald Trump’s campaign committee and the Republican National Committee sued Saturday to block North Carolina election officials from enforcing rule changes that could boost the number of ballots counted in the presidential battleground state.

The Republicans’ lawsuit claims a new system adopted by the State Board of Elections will allow for absentee ballots to be cast late and without proper witness verification, “which invites fraud, coercion, theft, and otherwise illegitimate voting.”

The elections board on Tuesday issued new guidance allowing mail-in absentee ballots with deficient information to be fixed without forcing the voter to fill out a new blank ballot for November’s general election.

The change means absentee voters who don’t provide complete information on their envelope about a witness who saw them fill out the ballot won’t have to complete a new ballot and locate another witness. A voter will just have to turn in an affidavit confirming they filled out the original ballot.

North Carolina is one of eight states with witness and or notary public requirements for absentee ballots, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. North Carolina General Assembly leaders announced late Saturday they had also filed a similar lawsuit in federal court against board members. They asked a judge to block enforcement of the board’s absentee ballot alterations, which they contend would wrest away from the legislature its constitutional job to set the rules for federal elections.

The national Republicans’ federal lawsuit claims the state elections board made a partisan “backroom deal” that undermines state lawmakers’ “carefully-considered, balanced structure of election laws.” The suit claims the board’s guidance usurps a law that says a ballot may only be accepted if it has a witness signature on it.

“While touted as allowing greater access to voters during the current pandemic — an objective already addressed in recent months by the General Assembly — the actual effect is to undermine protections that help ensure the upcoming election will be not only safe and accessible but secure, fair, and credible,” the suit says.

The lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign and the RNC also accuses the board of trying to override state law in saying that ballots postmarked on or before Election Day can be counted if they are received within nine days of the election instead of the three days prescribed by law.

The state elections board and its chairman, Damon Circosta, are among the defendants named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs also include two Republican congressmen from North Carolina, U.S. Reps. Greg Murphy and Dan Bishop.

Circosta didn’t immediately respond Saturday evening to text messages seeking a response to the lawsuits. Later Saturday, Board spokesperson Patrick Gannon said the board was reviewing the litigation.

North Carolina and other states expect a major surge in absentee voting for the Nov. 3 election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1 million voters in North Carolina already had requested an absentee ballot as of Sept. 24 and that nearly 240,00 completed ballots had already been returned, the lawsuit says.

The state elections board’s new guidance to county boards means residents won’t be forced to start over from scratch in casting votes if a witness fails to sign or provide an address on the envelope containing their absentee ballot. The guidance means that the ballot now won’t be considered “spoiled,” and the voter will be sent an affidavit to sign to rectify the problem.

Issues with deficient witness information on mail-in ballots have disproportionately affected Black voters. Ballots cast by African Americans account for about 43 percent of those classified as having incomplete witness information, according to state elections data earlier in the week. Yet Black residents account for 16 percent of overall ballots returned.

Photo via AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

Related Stories
‹
North Carolina Republicans Seek Data to Resolve Top Races
North Carolina Republicans pressed state election officials on Friday to make public more information about the number of outstanding ballots from this week’s election that could be counted. Nearly a dozen Election Day races in North Carolina, including those for president and U.S. Senate, remain too early to call because as many as 172,000 ballots […]
North Carolina Governor Adds 2 GOP Members to Election Board
North Carolina’s governor has appointed two Republicans to the State Board of Elections to replace predecessors who resigned amid pushback over absentee ballot procedures they had voted to support. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has appointed Carr McLamb, a lawyer who previously worked at two state agencies; and Tommy Tucker, a former legislator, to the […]
Judge Halts New North Carolina Absentee Witness Info Rule
A federal judge has halted new North Carolina absentee voting rules that gave voters more leeway to fix witness problems and extended the period when elections boards could accept mailed-in ballots. The rules, issued last week in a settlement with voting rights advocates, were blocked by a temporary restraining order issued Saturday by U.S. District […]
NC Halts Plan to Resolve Ballot Issue With Voter Affidavits
Pending a legal review, the North Carolina State Board of Elections is suspending steps to allow voters to correct absentee ballots lacking the required witness signature by signing an affidavit. In a memo sent to county elections officials on Thursday, the state board’s executive director, Karen Brinson Bell, ordered them to hit the brakes on […]
Early Vote Shows Signs of Black Voters' Shift to Mail Voting
Shirley Dixon-Mosley had never sent a ballot through the mail. She always treasured casting her ballot in person. But for November’s election, she voted early and by mail because she didn’t want to take any chances. “I want to make sure my vote got in and it counted,” said the 75-year-old retired teacher’s aide in […]
NC Elections Board, Republicans Spar Over Absentee Changes
North Carolina’s currently Democratic-only elections board exchanged public jabs with state Republican heavyweights on Friday over the efficacy and legality of a brokered agreement intended to ease some absentee ballot rules for the November election. The State Board of Elections this week altered some guidance to county boards related to mail-in ballots as demand for […]
North Carolina GOP Elections Board Members Resign Over Absentee Settlement
The two Republican members of North Carolina’s state elections board have resigned after signing off on a settlement to help voters fix absentee ballot problems that has been criticized by state GOP leaders. Ken Raymond and David Black announced their resignations late Wednesday from the North Carolina State Board of Elections over the tentative agreement […]
North Carolina Absentee Ballots Are Being Distributed Following 2-Week Delay
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS North Carolina counties started distributing absentee ballots Tuesday for the November general election to those who requested them, roughly two weeks later than anticipated as a legal challenge forced delays. Election officials in all 100 counties planned to mail out the first ballots to regular state residents starting Tuesday. Ballots to […]
North Carolina’s Absentee Ballot Release Was Delayed by RFK Jr. Ruling, but Will Begin This Week
North Carolina's first absentee ballots for the November election will be distributed starting this week, the State Board of Elections said.
Elections Board, Absentee, Early Vote Changes Heard by North Carolina Senate Panel
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Republican senators began on Wednesday to attempt to advance wide-ranging voting measures addressing early and absentee balloting and transferring control over the state election board from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to legislative leaders. The sponsors of the two measures pitched to a Senate committee said they’re designed to […]
›