2022 Mythbusters

Rumor: Once you cast a provisional ballot, there’s no way to track it.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 3, 2022.

Rumor: Bad actors infiltrated county boards of elections’ networks and changed votes in 2020.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 10, 2022.

Rumor: U.S. House candidates must live in the district they wish to represent.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 24, 2022.

Rumor: Unaffiliated voters can’t vote in a partisan primary.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Jan. 31, 2022.

View more of this data at Investigations Division.

Rumor: Election irregularities are not investigated.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 7, 2022.

Rumor: Absentee-by-mail voters didn’t need a witness in 2020.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Feb. 28, 2022.

Learn more at Vote in Person on Election Day.

Rumor: I can’t vote if it is close to when polls close and the line is too long.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 14, 2022.

Rumor: North Carolina elections officials can release “cast vote records” as some other states do.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: March 21, 2022.

Rumor: Votes are fraudulently being cast by 121+year-olds.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 4, 2022.

Rumor: Someone could vote twice by voting an absentee ballot and then voting in person.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 11, 2022.

Rumor: Ballot drop boxes were used in North Carolina’s 2020 general election.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 18, 2022.

Rumor: There is a “chip” in the motherboard of voting equipment in North Carolina that allows for a remote connection to the equipment.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: April 25, 2022.

Rumor: Counting should stop on election night.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 2, 2022.

Rumor: Dead people are voting!

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 9, 2022.

Rumor: Drop boxes were used in North Carolina in 2020.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 16, 2022.

Rumor: Absentee-by-mail ballots are only counted in close elections.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: May 23, 2022.

Rumor: For your ballot to count, you must vote in all contests on your ballot.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 6, 2022.

Rumor: Polling locations do not have accessible voting machines.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 13, 2022.

Rumor: College students must vote in their hometown.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 20, 2022.

Rumor: If you vote for too many candidates in a contest, your entire ballot won’t count.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: June 27, 2022.

If you are eligible to vote, your sample ballot will be here: Voter Search.

Rumor: All North Carolina voters can vote July 26, 2022.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 11, 2022.

Rumor: North Carolina uses the Spanish company, Scytl, in its elections. (This is a recent, oft-cited piece of election misinformation.)

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 18, 2022.

Rumor: The State Board of Elections can “call” a contest before it is certified.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: July 25, 2022.

Rumor: Counting should stop on election night.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 1, 2022.

Rumor: Voters should vote as late as possible on Election Day.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 8, 2022.

Rumor: An election can be defrauded by printing and sending in extra mail-in ballots.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 22, 2022.

Rumor: The Secretary of State’s office oversees elections in North Carolina.

Website: ncsbe.gov

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Aug. 29, 2022.

Rumor: Counting should stop on election night.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Sept. 26, 2022.

Learn more: In North Carolina, Election Workers Must Write on Your Ballot.

Rumor: Writing on your ballot invalidates it.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Oct. 24, 2022.

Rumor: Election administrators send annoying mass mailings.

Adapted from NCSBE’s Twitter post: Nov. 14, 2022.

Overview

North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE)

Overview

Reality: In North Carolina, provisional voters receive a Provisional Identification Number (PIN). The voter can use this, along with their date of birth, to check their ballot status.

Reality: North Carolina National Guard and State Board cybersecurity teams investigated the claims, determining they were false and likely fabricated.

Reality: Under the U.S. Constitution, as long as they reside in North Carolina, candidates for U.S. House can run in any of the 14 congressional districts.

Reality: In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters may choose the Democratic, Libertarian, Republican, or nonpartisan ballot (if available) in a primary election.

Reality: The State Board investigated 358 cases between the 2020 and 2021 elections, and referred 61 cases to district attorneys across North Carolina.

Reality: In North Carolina, absentee ballots require two witnesses, which was reduced to one for the 2020 general election only — because of the pandemic.

Reality: On Election Day in North Carolina, any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote.

Reality: Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of voted ballots are confidential in North Carolina. Releasing them would be a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Reality: North Carolina registrants weren’t required to provide a birth date until the 1990s. As a result, election officials would issue a temporary placeholder when birth date was unknown (1/1/1900 or 1/1/1901).

Reality: If someone has voted an absentee ballot and then shows up to vote in person, the check-in system will alert the poll worker that the person has already voted.

Reality: Under state law, ballot drop boxes are not permitted nor have they ever been used for absentee-by-mail voting in North Carolina. Other states do use drop boxes.

Reality: North Carolina voting equipment does not contain modem chips, and state law prohibits voting machines from being connected wirelessly to any other device.

Reality: North Carolina election officials always count some absentee and provisional votes during the canvass period after Election Day — and must by law.

Reality: It’s impossible for a dead person to mark a ballot, and we have no evidence of widespread or coordinated efforts to vote in the names of deceased voters. That’s a felony, by the way.

Reality: Ballot drop boxes are not permitted nor have they ever been used for absentee-by-mail voting in North Carolina. Other states do use drop boxes.

Reality: All validly cast absentee-by-mail ballots are counted, regardless of the closeness of a race.

Reality: If you do not vote for any candidates in a contest, only that contest will be affected; any other contests in which you vote for the allowed number of candidates will be counted.

Reality: The Help America Vote Act requires each polling location to have one voting machine that is accessible for people with disabilities, including non-visual accessibility for the blind and visually-impaired.

Reality: College students may register and vote in the county where they go to school if they’re physically present in the school community, unless they plan to return home after graduation.

Reality: If you vote for too many candidates in a contest, only that contest will be affected; any other contests in which you vote for the allowed number of candidates will be counted.

Reality: Because there are a limited number of contests, only certain voters are eligible to vote in the July 26 election.

Reality: Scytl is not involved with North Carolina elections, nor any voting-system vendor doing business in North Carolina.

Reality: Boards of Elections never project a race for any candidate. Elections officials issue certificates of nomination or election after all votes are counted.

Reality: North Carolina election officials always count some absentee and provisional votes during the canvass period after Election Day — and must by law.

Reality: All voting methods — by mail, early, and Election Day — are secure and available to all voters in North Carolina. Your vote will count no matter when, where, or how you vote.

Reality: Safeguards are in place to prevent home-printed or photocopied mail-in ballots from being counted.

Reality: North Carolina elections are overseen by the five-member State Board of Elections. Members are appointed by the governor.

Reality: North Carolina election officials always count some absentee and provisional votes during the canvass period after Election Day and must by law.

Reality: In North Carolina, election workers must write on your ballot during early voting.

Reality: The State Board and county boards of elections NEVER send mass mailings about your voter record, or your neighbors’ voting records. Political groups — not elections officials — do this.

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