Author: Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director
As we begin in-person voting next week, all county boards of elections should instruct one-stop and Election Day officials to remind voters to verify their selections on the ballot. Around one-third of North Carolina’s counties are using new voting systems in 2020, which increases the importance of reminding voters to verify their selections, especially if they are using a voting system for the first time. Many ballots are two-sided, which may be overlooked by a voter if not reminded. Further, tabulators will not reject blank or under-voted ballots. See Ballot Preparation Instructions: Numbered Memo 2020-02. Once a voter inserts their ballot in the tabulator, even if it is blank, it is not possible for the voter to modify their selections.
Signage Reminding Voters to Verify Their Selections
The State Board Office has created a sign that you should print out and locate at each of your voting sites. The sign reads: “Review each selection on your ballot before inserting it into the tabulator. Thank you for voting!” You may download the file at NCSBE Public Files: Precinct Signage | Review Ballot Folder. The poster is available in a letter size and a larger 11x17” size.
Elections officials should choose a prominent location for the sign so voters will see it prior to placing their marked ballots in the tabulator. We understand that some locations may not have a wall near the tabulator, so it may be necessary to place the sign in a cone, post, acrylic frame, or other movable structure. If you already have existing signage with the same information, you may continue to use that signage instead.
Sample Script for Elections Officials
Elections officials should remind each voter to verify their selections prior to placing their ballot in the tabulator. Instructions should be given to all voters, whether they marked their ballot by hand or used a ballot marking device. The following sample script may be used by the elections official located near the tabulator:
“Have you carefully reviewed each selection on your ballot?”
Make sure the official is familiar with the steps for the voter to return to a voting booth to make further selections, to spoil their ballot, to knowingly cast a blank or undervoted ballot, or continue to cast their ballot with an overvoted selection if the voter so chooses.
You should also ensure that elections officials at the Ballot Table instruct each voter where to go to mark their ballot, and that after they mark their ballot they should insert it into the tabulator. Officials should also provide voters with the option to use a ballot marking device, regardless of whether the voter has an identifiable or acknowledged disability. Please do not refer to these devices as only ADA devices, as they are available in polling places to ensure that any voter may vote independently per the Help America Vote Act.
↓ Voter Instructions for Voting Systems: Numbered Memo 2020-06 (PDF)