Gov. Stein encourages in-person voting, citing 'rejection rate' for mail-in ballots

Gov. Josh Stein is criticizing what he says is an unusually high number of mail-in ballot rejections, urging voters to instead cast their votes in person "if possible." He blamed the State Board of Elections' recent changes to absentee ballot processing guidelines that require officials to reject ballots in some cases, rather than offer voters an easier process to "cure" mistakes.

"The State Board of Elections’ last-minute changes to voting by mail are leading to thousands more absentee ballots being rejected this election — at a rejection rate twice as high as in 2022," Stein said in a social media post Tuesday evening. "It’s infuriating. North Carolinians, please make a plan to vote this year, in person if possible."

Stein was referencing an analysis from the nonprofit advocacy group Common Cause. Its analysis was published Tuesday by Democracy Docket, a left-leaning legal group involved in a lawsuit seeking to block the new mail-in ballot processing guidelines.

A federal court judge earlier this week declined to block the guidelines. "Neither of the two challenged provisions, which are clearly stated on the absentee ballot materials — that the voter sign his or her own name and place their ballot in a sealed envelope provided by the county board of election — is burdensome, much less unduly so," U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder wrote. He is a Greensboro-based judge first appointed by President George W. Bush.

The main point of contention in the elections board's guidance requires officials to reject mail-in ballots that aren't sealed properly — with seals on both the ballot envelope and outer envelope — forcing the voter to start the process over again.

The lawsuit also takes issue with new signature verification guidelines that the plaintiffs say are too vague. They say attempts to match a voter's signature on their absentee ballot with other signatures on file could lead to errors and isn't needed to verify the voter's identity.

Sailor Jones, state director of Common Cause, told WUNC News in an email that roughly 3% of mail-in ballots so far have been rejected, double the rejection percentage from the 2022 midterm election. He says the data is "based on reports from Common Cause NC's trained volunteer monitors and attorneys from (Southern Coalition for Social Justice), as well as reports shared by League of Women Voters' monitors."

Numbers are higher in several counties, Jones said, including two left-leaning urban counties. "Mecklenburg, Forsyth, New Hanover and Randolph have had counts yield between 8-11% spoilage," he said. A total of 27 counties are included in the group's data so far.

It's unclear how many of the rejected mail-in ballots are related to the new guidelines; ballots can be rejected for other reasons as well. WUNC News has requested more details from the State Board of Elections, but as of late Wednesday morning, its spokesman hadn't provided a response to Common Cause's findings.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot has already passed, and voters seeking to vote by mail must ensure their completed ballot is received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. In-person early voting is under way across the state and runs through 3 p.m. on Oct. 31.