Help for Absentee Voters

Governor Cooper signed the Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020 on June 12, 2020. The law is intended to provide temporary relief to voters during the pandemic and its provisions are set to expire on 12/31/2020. Here are some of its provisions:

• Reduces the absentee ballot witness requirement from two to one.
• Allows voters to submit an absentee ballot request form by email, online portal, fax, mail, or in person. The online portal is to be available by 9/1/2020.
• Allows voters to call the BOE and request that an absentee ballot request form be mailed to them, thus eliminating the need for a printer.
• Gives counties greater flexibility in assigning poll workers.
• Allocates state matching funds to take advantage of federal CARES Act and HAVA money.
• Allocates funds to help counties prepare for elections during the pandemic, including purchase of PPE and increasing recruitment and pay for poll workers.
• Allocates funds for election security and continuity of operations in case of disaster.

We’ve incorporated the changes into our Step by Step Guide to Absentee Voting, so please check it out!