Voters in North Carolina who sent in absentee ballots without a witness signature will have to fill out a new ballot, signed by a witness, to have it count in the upcoming election. According to CBS 17, more than 10,000 absentee ballots were sent in with "deficiencies" that affect the ballot's legitimacy.
"The State Board has directed the county boards of elections to immediately begin reaching out to voters with problems with their absentee ballots," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. "Our main focus continues to be ensuring all eligible voters can successfully and safely cast ballots in this important election."
Earlier this year, some groups filed lawsuits about the requirement of a witness signature, saying instead that they should be "cured" in the way other problems with mail-in ballots are fixed. In this process, voters are sent a certification to sign to prove the validity of their ballots. According to WRAL, Republican leaders took issue with that, saying it went against state law to allow ballots without witness signatures. After a few weeks of debate and lawsuits, Attorney General Josh Stein issued the new ruling on Sunday that requires the signatures.
In North Carolina, nearly 1.5 million residents have already voted for the November 3 elections. According to the State Board of Elections, the number of people who cast ballots on the first day of early voting was about twice as that on the first day in the 2016 election.
Photo: Getty Images