GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                   D

HOUSE DRH70063-LB-66  (02/07)

Short Title:        Early Voting on Weekends.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representative Farmer-Butterfield.
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to mandate a minimum amount of early voting on weekends.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163-227.2(b) and (f) read as rewritten:

"(b)      Not earlier than the third 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. Saturday, except that during each of the first primary and general elections in even-numbered years the county board of elections shall conduct at least 20 hours of one-stop voting in total between Saturday and Sundays, with not less than six nor more than eight of those 20 hours on the final 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.

…

(f)         Notwithstanding the exception specified in G.S. 163-36, counties which operate a modified full-time office shall remain open five days each week during regular business hours consistent with daily hours presently observed by the county board of elections, commencing with the date prescribed in G.S. 163-227.2(b) and continuing until 5:00 P.M. on the Friday prior to that election and shall also be open on the last Saturday before the election. election, and during each of the first primary and general elections in even-numbered years the county board of elections shall conduct at least 20 hours of one-stop voting in total between Saturday and Sundays, with not less than six nor more than eight of those 20 hours on the final Saturday. A county board may conduct one-stop absentee voting during evenings or on weekends, as long as the hours are part of a plan submitted and approved according to subsection (g) of this section. The boards of county commissioners shall provide necessary funds for the additional operation of the office during that time."

SECTION 2.  This act is effective with respect to primaries and elections conducted on or after January 1, 2014.