The Pender County GIS department created a user-friendly map to locate Nov. 3 polling places as well as current early voting locations.
The Pender County GIS department created a user-friendly map to locate Nov. 3 polling places as well as current early voting locations.
RALEIGH, N.C. – The following is a message to North Carolina voters from Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections:
It is illegal to vote twice in an election. N.C.G.S. § 163-275(7) makes it a Class I felony for a voter, “with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at more than one precinct or more than one time…in the same primary or election.” Attempting to vote twice in an election or soliciting someone to do so also is a violation of North Carolina law.
There are numerous checks in place in North Carolina that prevent people from double voting. Electronic pollbooks with information about who has already voted are used at every early voting site. If a voter tries to check in who has already voted, they will be prevented from voting a regular ballot. A voter will be offered a provisional ballot if they insist on voting, and this ballot will be researched after Election Day to determine whether it should be counted.
On Election Day, voters who have voted absentee are removed from the pollbook, which is updated before voting starts at 6:30 a.m. Absentee ballots that are received on Election Day are not counted until after the election, and this prevents double voting.
Also, the State Board conducts audits after each election that check voter history against ballots cast and would detect if someone tries to vote more than once in an election. Because absentee ballots and early voting ballots are retrievable, if someone tries to get around the system, their ballot can be retrieved and not counted, so it will not affect the outcome of an election.
The State Board has a dedicated investigations team that investigates allegations of double voting, which are referred to prosecutors when warranted.
If you request an absentee by-mail ballot but decide later that you would like to vote in person instead, you may. You should discard your absentee ballot. Do not send it back in.
If you have already placed your ballot in the mail but are not sure whether it has been accepted by your county board of elections, North Carolina offers a few ways to check the status of your absentee by-mail ballot without leaving your home.
Voters can:
1. Check your voter record at the State Board’s Voter Search Tool to find out whether your ballot was accepted by your county board of elections. This information will appear in the voter record after a ballot has been accepted.
2. Sign up for BallotTrax, when it launches in the next few days, to track your ballot through the system. BallotTrax is a new service that will allow voters to track their ballot through the mail and confirm receipt by the county board of elections, much like they can track their online order or pizza delivery. When it launches, a link will be available at NCSBE.gov.
3. Contact your county board of elections if you have questions about their ballot status.
The State Board office strongly discourages people from showing up at the polls on Election Day to check whether their absentee ballot was counted. That is not necessary, and it would lead to longer lines and the possibility of spreading COVID-19.
North Carolina elections officials encourage voters to request their ballot as soon as possible and return it as soon as they are ready to do so. By doing so, you can track your ballot and ensure your vote counts.
North Carolina offers several options to Vote, you may:
PLEASE BE ADVISED THE ELECTIONS OFFICE AT 807 S. WALKER STREET WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR VOTING THIS YEAR. IN LIEU OF THE OFFICE, EARLY VOTING WILL BE HELD AT THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AUDITORIUM LOCATED AT 801 S. WALKER STREET BURGAW, NC
North Carolina offers several options to Vote, you may:
PLEASE BE ADVISED THE ELECTIONS OFFICE AT 807 S. WALKER STREET WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR VOTING THIS YEAR. IN LIEU OF THE OFFICE, EARLY VOTING WILL BE HELD AT THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AUDITORIUM LOCATED AT 801 S. WALKER STREET BURGAW, NC
RALEIGH, N.C. – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, students at colleges and universities who choose to vote by mail should request that their ballot be sent to an address where they know they will receive it.
“We want to ensure all eligible voters have the information they need to successfully cast their ballot in this important election during these unique times,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections.
If you are temporarily living away or displaced from the residence where you are registered to vote and you intend to return later, then you are not considered to have lost your place of residence. It can remain your residential address for voting.
If you are registered to vote at your campus address and have not requested an absentee ballot, you may request a ballot (North Carolina Absentee Ballot Request Form) and have it sent to an address of your choosing. This is the best option for students who are registered to vote at their campus address and know they will be leaving their campus address for the remainder of the semester.
If you are registered to vote at your campus address and unsure if you are leaving campus, please wait until you know your housing situation before requesting a ballot.
Students who have already requested a ballot but must leave campus due to COVID-19 or for any other reason may submit a new request to have their ballot sent to a different address. The first request will not be fulfilled. Students or others who submit a new form can make a note on the new form, such as “Updated” or “Changed” to alert county elections workers that it is an updated request. They can also email or contact their county board office to ensure the ballot is sent to the updated address.
However, if you have abandoned your place of residence and intend to stay at your new address indefinitely, then you should register at your new residential address.
If you will be away from your residential or mailing address, be sure to include the address where you want your ballot to be sent on your absentee ballot request. If you have moved within your county, you may use the request form to update your residential address and/or mailing address.
By September 1, an online absentee ballot request portal will be available on the State Board’s website, NCSBE.gov. This will allow all registered voters to request a ballot online. Beginning September 4, county boards of elections will begin to send ballots to voters who request them.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is October 27, 2020. However, elections officials strongly encourage voters to request a ballot before then to ensure absentee ballot return deadlines can be met.
As always, all voters may vote in person during the early voting period, October 15-31, or on Election Day – November 3, 2020.
To register to vote, please complete a North Carolina Voter Registration Application. Existing N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles’ customers may use the online DMV service to register to vote or update their registration. The regular voter registration deadline is October 9. If you miss that deadline, you may register and vote at the same time in person during early voting.
BURGAW – There will be five One Stop early voting stations in Pender County, the Pender County Board of Elections announced today.
“One Stop means a resident may register and vote in the same visit,” said Susan Williams, Pender County Board of Elections director.
The five locations are:
801 S. Walker St., Burgaw, 28425
621 NC Hwy 210 East (Surf City, with a Hampstead 28443 mailing address)
15060 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, 28443
227 Scott Road, Rocky Point, 28457
19170 US Hwy 421, Willard, 28478
Williams noted that One Stop registration and voting will not take place in the Pender County Board of Elections this year. In lieu of use of the board office, the county is offering a socially distanced location of the Pender County Cooperative Extension Auditorium.
Early voting at these locations begin Oct. 15 through Oct. 31. The One Stop hours are as follows:
“Voters who requested an absentee ballot by mail may complete their ballot, seal it in the provided return envelope, sign and have witness sign as required,” said Williams. “The voter may mail the ballot, return it in person to the office, or take the sealed ballot to any Early Voting Site. Absentee-by-mail ballots may NOT be returned to any voting site on Election Day.
For more information regarding voter registration and early voting, call the Pender County Board of Elections at 910-259-1220.
RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina elections officials are responding to many voters’ questions and concerns about mass mailings, text messages, phone calls and home visits by political and advocacy groups.
View a video of Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell discussing this issue.
Many ongoing outreach efforts by third parties urge residents to request absentee by-mail ballots or register to vote ahead of the November 3 general election. Some mailings include voter registration applications or absentee ballot request forms.
These efforts typically are legal, but they can be confusing or frustrating for voters and erode confidence in elections, especially when they are unsolicited.
The State Board offers to review mailings and other communications for third parties to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and to attempt to avoid voter confusion and anger.
“The State and County Boards of Elections encourage third-party groups to consider the overwhelming toll that misleading or confusing mailings and other outreach efforts take on elections resources and the damage they cause to voters’ confidence in elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “We need our elections officials to be focused on serving more than 7 million voters during a pandemic.”
For voters, elections officials offer the following tips for dealing with the onslaught of mail, phone calls and text messages this election season:
1) Rely on official sources, especially your state and county elections officials, for accurate information about elections and the voting process. Third-party mailings and other outreach materials may be misleading or false. Go to NCSBE.gov or your county board’s website for accurate and up-to-date information about elections. Follow the State Board of Elections on social media.
2) Check your voter registration status with the State Board’s “Voter Search” tool. If you are not registered or want to update your registration, download, complete and sign a North Carolina Voter Registration Application. Return the application to your county board of elections. If you are an existing NCDMV customer, you can register to vote or change certain parts of your registration online here free of charge.
3) Request an absentee ballot by going to NCSBE.gov and downloading a 2020 State Absentee Ballot Request Form. The law has changed to allow request forms to be transmitted to the county board of elections office via fax or email, in addition to by mail or in person. The status of your absentee ballot request remains confidential – and cannot be viewed in your online voter record – until your marked ballot is returned to the county board office. The voter or voter’s near relative or legal guardian can still contact the county board of elections to receive that information. Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters who requested them beginning September 4.
4) If you have concerns about a mailing, please contact the group responsible for the mailing. There is rarely anything elections officials can do to stop outreach efforts.
5) State and county elections officials are not associated with third-party groups that send out mass mailings or text messages.
6) Elections officials do not randomly call or text residents to encourage them to register to vote or request absentee ballots.
7) Elections officials do not verify the accuracy of data, such as voter record data, provided by third parties in their mailings. State and county elections officials do not go door-to-door to register voters or encourage them to request absentee ballots.
8) Always ask voter registration workers who come to your door to verify their identities and organizations. If someone refuses, call the State Board office at 919-814-0700 and ask for the Investigations Division.
“We know these groups are often well intended and we certainly do not want to discourage folks from being active participants in our democracy,” said Brinson Bell, “but we must make sure that these actions do not prohibit, impair, or cause voters not to be active participants in democracy.”
The Board of Elections will have a staff member available at the Pender County Annex in Hampstead on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am – 4 pm.
We will be located in the conference room to the right as soon as you enter the front door.
“Voters will not be required to show photo ID for the upcoming election. In a December 31 order, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. The injunction will remain in place until further order of the court.”
PLEASE BE ADVISED: As Stay at Home orders are lifted, we ask that the public only enter through the front doors of the Election Office. Parking is available on the side of the building. Pender County Board Of Elections will continue to provide normal services to citizens of Pender County.
Please reach out to our office for any assistance you need from us during this time.