Outstanding Ballots Data Report Summary
Overview
N.C. Session Law 2023-140 (S.B. 747) requires the State Board, during each day of the early voting period, to publish a data report which includes the number of mail-in absentee ballots spoiled due to voting in person at an early voting site, and the number of outstanding mail-in absentee ballots, including the number of ballots sent to date and the number received by county boards of elections to date. As such, the State Board is publishing this file: 2024 Nov 5 Election - Outstanding Absentee Ballots (ZIP) (absentee_spoiled_outstanding_yyyymmdd.zip). It will be updated daily during the early voting period, through the day after the county canvass, Nov 16.
The report is grouped by county, and includes the following fields:
- election_date: Election date.
- county_name: County name.
- abs_sent: Number of ballots sent to voters.
- abs_accepted: Number of ballots that have been returned and accepted.
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
- Accepted
- Accepted - Cured
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
- abs_spoiled_EV: Number of ballots that have been spoiled due to the voter voting in person during early voting.
- Total includes the following absentee return status:
- Spoiled - EV
- Total includes the following absentee return status:
- abs_received_not_counted: Number of ballots that have been received but will not be counted.
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
- Affidavit Declined
- Assistant Info Incomplete
- Cancelled
- Duplicate
- E-transmission Failure
- No Application
- Not Properly Notarized
- No Time For Cure
- Not Voted
- Rejected
- Returned After Deadline
- Returned Undeliverable
- Spoiled - EV
- Spoiled
- Signed By Other
- Witness Info Incomplete
- Wrong Voter
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
- abs_outstanding: Number of ballots that have not yet been returned, or have been returned with curable deficiencies
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
- Affidavit Incomplete
- Affidavit Review Pending
- Conflict
- Photo ID Curable
- ID Not Provided
- Photo ID Noncompliant
- Pending Cure
- Pending
- Voter Signature Missing
- Total includes the following absentee return statuses:
Please note that ballots with the ‘Spoiled - EV’ status will be reflected in both the abs_spoiled_EV and abs_received_not_counted columns. Also, the absentee return statuses are not included in this report but are reflected in the ballot_rtn_status column here: 2024 Nov 5 Election - Absentee Statewide (ZIP) (absentee_yyyymmdd.zip).
The data in this report are administrative data entered into the Statewide Election Information Management System (SEIMS) by county election workers across North Carolina. Every attempt is made to ensure data are entered accurately. However, data entry errors are possible. Data entry errors have no effect on whether any ballot is counted. If you have questions about this or any other data from the State Board, please send an email to elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov.
After Election Day, the number of outstanding ballots that could be returned and counted will be less than the number of outstanding ballots reflected in this report. That is because the State Board will not know how many voters with outstanding absentee ballots voted on Election Day until the county boards of elections complete their regular post-election task of assigning voter history to voters’ records during the canvass period.