Mail in voting in 2020 does not require a notary? (house, bill)

[zitsky]

Is there a voting thread?

I guess rules have changed since last time I looked at this. Do you now only need one witness and they can be anyone, roommate, husband, wife, etc? Didn't there used to be a requirement for it to be notarized? Or am I thinking of another state?

[CLT4]

Originally Posted by zitsky

Is there a voting thread?

I guess rules have changed since last time I looked at this. Do you now only need one witness and they can be anyone, roommate, husband, wife, etc? Didn't there used to be a requirement for it to be notarized? Or am I thinking of another state?

It did change temporarily.

Note: For the November 2020 general election only, only one witness is required for an absentee ballot. For all other elections, in the presence of two witnesses (or one witness if the witness is a Notary Public), the voter should mark the ballot, or if the voter is unable to mark the ballot, shall cause it to be marked according to the voter’s instructions.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options...AbsenteeBallot

House Bill 1169 is called the Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, was proposed bi-partisan by two Republicans and two Democrats, and was passed by the NC Legislature House with 105 aye votes and 14 no votes and the Senate by 37 aye votes and 12 no votes. It was passed in response to the pandemic and for the general election this fall only. The Governor signed the bill on June 12.
https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2019/H1169

The no votes in both the Senate and House were Democrats. All Republicans voted aye. The no votes from some Democrats were concerns that the bill still required a witness and they favored no witness.

[poppydog]

It never required a notary.

[goldenage1]

It used to require two witness signatures, but now only one.

When you send in the application for an absentee ballot, be sure to put your home address as the location to mail the ballot. They do not assume you home address, and my application was sent back to me.

BTW, we just got a ballot application from the Trump Campaign. It appears to be the correct form and address. My husband will use it.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by CLT4

Note: For the November 2020 general election only,
only one witness is required for an absentee ballot. For all other elections, in the presence of two witnesses...

ooooh I'm gonna get my bat$hit crazy Qanon neighbor to witness me and my choices.

[Hemlock140]

We have voted by mail statewide for 10 years here, and it never required notary nor a witness unless you are unable to sign and put X for your signature.

[CLT4]

Originally Posted by poppydog

It never required a notary.

It used to require a notary if you only had one witness. That one witness needed to be a notary. You could do two witnesses without a notary. Now you just need one witness and they don't need to be a notary.

[poppydog]

Like I said it was never a requirement for a notary. You could just have two witnesses, which is a lot easier.

[roadpony]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

We have voted by mail statewide for 10 years here, and it never required notary nor a witness unless you are unable to sign and put X for your signature.

Not relevant to NC. Don't confuse people.

[Jowel]

Here's a handy Q&A from the NC State Board of Elections that's been updated regarding absentee ballots:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.go...2020_FINAL.pdf

Also, although there are more limited circumstances of physical disability that this applies to, remember curbside voting is still an option at every polling location (information directly from NC Board of Elections):

Curbside Voting
In any election, if any voter is able to travel to the voting place, but because of age or physical disability and physical barriers encountered at the voting place is unable to enter the voting enclosure to vote in person without physical assistance, that voter will be allowed to vote in the vehicle conveying that voter.

Curbside voting is available at all North Carolina voting sites during the one-stop absentee voting period and on election day. Voting sites will have signage indicating curbside voting and will also have a curbside alert system. An election official will come to the vehicle to obtain the voter’s name and address. Before a ballot is issued to a curbside voter, the voter must swear an oath affirming his or her qualification to use curbside voting.

https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting-accessibility

We need to do all we can to be vigilant as voters, because recent history in North Carolina shows that voter suppression corruption schemes against the people's best interests can be aggressive, and planned attempts to suppress voters are now happening relentlessly at the federal level.