Numbered Memo 2014-02: May 2014 Primary One-Stop Hours Reduction Requests

This numbered memo is directed to county boards of elections that are interested in seeking a reduction in the number of required cumulative hours of operation for one-stop voting in the May 2014 primary.

One-Stop Early Voting in the 2014 Primary and Session Law 2013-381’s Hours-Matching Requirement: Numbered Memo 2013-05 (dated Oct. 17, 2013) provided some information about new hours-matching requirements for one-stop voting that will be in effect starting with the 2014 primary, as required by law. Some county boards of elections have inquired about requesting a reduction in the number of required hours under this provision (in a Dec. 20, 2013 meeting, the State Board considered four counties’ requests). That prospect is addressed in G.S. § 163-227.2(g3):

A county board of elections by unanimous vote of the board, with all members present and voting, may submit a request to the State Board to reduce the number of hours established in subsection (g2) of this section for a primary or a general election. The reduction shall take effect for that primary or general election only if approved by unanimous vote of the State Board with all members present and voting.

To decide to make the request, a county board of elections should consider it and take action at an official meeting (a request may only be made by a unanimous county board of elections). The county board of elections should determine a proposed schedule of hours, with a calculation of the total number of cumulative hours that this proposed schedule would generate.

To make the request to the State Board of Elections, the following items should be sent to the State Board of Elections office:

• Cover letter explaining the need for the reduction in hours, and including the proposed schedule of hours
• Resolution or minutes from the meeting, signed by all three Board Members to evidence that unanimous county board action was taken

The Cover Letter

This will be the opportunity to explain to the State Board of Elections why a reduction in the number of required cumulative hours of one-stop voting is being requested (it is not necessary for any in-person representation at the meeting in which the State Board of Elections considers the request). Remember that the law only allows a request to be granted upon a unanimous vote by the State Board of Elections, so the request must be backed up by solid arguments and evidence. Here are a few possible items to consider:

• Voter traffic during the May 2010 primary, and other recent elections, including traffic at specific one-stop sites
• What items were on the ballot for the May 2010 primary, and what will likely be on the ballot for the May 2014 primary
• How voters will be served during the 10-day one-stop voting period — consider how the CBE handled one-stop voting in the largest elections that truly tested capacity
• Time and resources
• Availability of one-stop voting locations and geographic coverage of the county
• How the county has changed since 2010
• Demonstration of a good-faith effort to comply as closely as possible with the hours-match

The submission should also include a proposed schedule of hours, as set by the county board of elections. Below, see an example:

Example Schedule

Site: County board of elections office.

Total: 97 hours.

Alternately, counties could also complete the new one-stop Implementation Plan form to show the proposed schedule of hours. (The new implementation plan form will calculate the totals based on the number of hours entered for each day. See One-Stop Implementation Plans for the May 2014 Primary: Numbered Memo 2014-01.)

In order to allow sufficient time for the State Board of Elections to meet and consider such requests, CBEs wishing to make a request for the May 2014 Primary must submit the request to the State Board of Elections office must do so no later than Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. The document can be e-mailed to George McCue at george.mccue@ncsbe.gov. It is not necessary to send a hard copy, please send only through e-mail.

Like one-stop implementation plans, these requests are handled on single basis for each primary or election. In other words, a request for a reduction in the number of required hours for the 2014 general election must be made separately from a request to reduce the number of hours for the 2014 primary. Hours reduction requests for the 2014 general election can be made later on this year, in the summer.

Following the meeting in which the State Board considers the request, the county elections director will be contacted for an update on how the State Board ruled. If the request is granted, the county board of elections will receive a copy of the State Board’s order. 

↓ May 2014 Primary One-Stop Hours Reduction Requests: Numbered Memo 2014-02 (PDF)

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