A new report shows “a striking surge” in the number of absentee ballot requests in North Carolina, reflecting patterns seen across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
State election officials say as many as four of 10 voters, or more than 1.5 million, could cast mail-in ballots this fall. That’s 10 times the usual number.
Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College, analyzed more than 65,000 absentee ballot requests made through Friday. Weeks before ballots are even printed, that’s a four-fold increase from the number requested at the same time in 2016.
“We all were expecting a run-up in mail-in ballots,” Bitzer said Monday. “I don’t think anybody would have expected that rate at this point.”
Lawmakers and the N.C. State Board of Elections are making it easier to cast absentee ballots this year.
Last month Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed a law that among other things allows voters to request absentee ballots online. It also cuts the number of required witnesses from two to one. And by Sept. 1, the state elections board will have a special portal at www.ncsbe.gov.
Absentee ballots for the November election will start being mailed to voters Sept. 4.
But three lawsuits could bring even more changes.
Democracy North Carolina and the League of Women Voters as well as the National Redistricting Foundation and Right to Vote Foundation all have filed suit to make voting by mail easier. Last week the ACLU joined in. The suits seek changes such as eliminating the witness requirement altogether and having pre-paid postage.
“In virtually every election that’s taken place during the pandemic . . . we’ve seen very real challenges and issues,” said Hilary Klein, counsel to the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which brought the suit on behalf of the League of Women Voters. “We’re looking for ways to prevent that from occurring in North Carolina . . . and one of the ways is by making absentee voting easier.”
According to the ACLU, North Carolina is one of only 12 states that require somebody to witness an absentee ballot and one of only three that require two witness signatures on a ballot.