Federal judge unhappy with NC's controversial change to absentee ballot rules
A federal judge on Wednesday blasted the State Board of Elections’ recent change to the rules for absentee ballots, arguing that the move effectively overturns state law that requires voters to have a witness sign their mail-in ballot.
The elections board — as part of a proposed legal settlement that has caused two resignations from the board and a political uproar — set a new process for ballots that don’t include a witness signature. Elections officials would contact the voter and have them sign a “cure” form that confirms that they are indeed the person who submitted the absentee ballot.
Previously, voters who didn’t include a witness signature could be contacted and told to submit a new absentee ballot with a witness. State legislators who backed the witness requirement say it’s a key safeguard against the kind of absentee ballot fraud that marred the 9th Congressional District election in 2018.
But multiple lawsuits have challenged the requirement, arguing that requiring a witness signature during a pandemic could be an unfair burden to voters who live alone and might be avoiding contact with others due to COVID-19.
That issue was litigated once in federal court in August, where U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen upheld the witness requirement — with the caveat that ballots submitted with a “material error” shouldn’t be thrown out without “due process.”
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article246127840.html#storylink=cpy
= new reply since forum marked as read
unless one has trouble signing one's name, I don't see the need.
More voter suppression bullshit.
