Absentee ballot rule change in NC faces federal lawsuit

A group of nonprofit organizations and two voters sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections and two county election boards over new absentee ballot rules, according to a complaint filed Tuesday evening. 

It’s the first lawsuit of North Carolina’s 2026 election season. 

It comes after the State Board directed county election boards to spoil absentee ballots when voters do not seal the inner, container return envelope, regardless of whether the ballot is inside a sealed outer return envelope. 

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The North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, Down Home North Carolina and two voters argue that rule illegally discards votes for “immaterial errors” that have little to do with voters’ eligibility or election integrity. 

In their complaint, plaintiffs argue that the policy will disenfranchise thousands of absentee voters who may not have enough time to fill out replacement ballots by the time county boards identify the issue, or the ability to vote in person. 

State Board of Elections spokesperson Jason Tyson said the State Board does not comment on ongoing litigation, as a matter of policy. He did note that the board hired private counsel, under Executive Director Sam Hayes’ direction, instead of using Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office. 

How we got here

Absentee envelope drama dates back to 2024, when the Republican National Committee, North Carolina Republican Party and a voter sued the then-Democratic majority State Board over its absentee ballot counting policy. 

After the voter ID law went into effect, absentee voting got slightly more complicated. Instead of submitting one envelope with their ballot, absentee voters got two envelopes. The first was the container-return envelope, where voters were supposed to place their filled out absentee ballots. The container-return envelope has a sleeve attached to it where voters are supposed to put the photocopy of their voter IDs. The second envelope was the outer return envelope, encapsulating the container-return envelope and photo ID photocopy. 

Then, the board issued guidance that directed county election boards to count absentee ballots even if the inner, container-return envelope was not sealed, or appeared to have been opened and resealed, as long as the outer return envelope was sealed. 

The 2024 lawsuit asked the State Board to change its guidance to not accept these ballots. 

In the middle of litigation, the State Board shifted from a Democratic to Republican majority. In December 2025, the Republican-majority board agreed to a settlement that required it to reconsider the envelope sealing rules. 

When it reconsidered, the board agreed to change its policy. However, the State Board decided to do so through the rule-making process, which is more time-consuming and intense than issuing guidance to county election boards. While the Rules Review Commission accepted the absentee ballot rules, there was enough public objection to require legislative approval to implement them. That potentially would happen in 2027. 

In the meantime, the State Board also opted to issue updated guidance to county election boards. Under this guidance, each absentee voter must place the ballot inside a sealed inner container-return envelope, regardless of whether the outer return envelope is sealed. If a voter doesn’t do that, it will be considered an irregularity. 

County election boards would notify impacted voters within one business day of uncovering the issue, through mail, telephone and email, if they have that contact information. Their ballot would be spoiled and, if there is enough time, reissued through the mail. If there is not enough time, county election officials will tell these voters how they can vote in person, if the election is not already over. 

The absentee ballot lawsuit

Now, a federal district court will decide whether that guidance survives the 2026 election. 

Plaintiffs argued that the guidance, which passed along party lines, went against documented public opposition. They also argue that the guidance will require counties to discard ballots “for innocuous, technical errors unrelated to individuals’ eligibility to vote.” 

“… Amidst a national assault on mail voting, and on the same day that North Carolina began issuing absentee ballots to voters — the State Board dramatically upended the status quo,” the complaint states. “The Board’s new Republican majority rushed to implement eleventh-hour absentee ballot restrictions that will inevitably disenfranchise scores of North Carolina voters.”

The lawsuit also touches on another issue: signature verification.

Absentee voters must sign their application envelope. County election board members must determine whether that signature matches the name of the voter who requested the absentee ballot. Without clear evidence to the contrary, election officials will assume the signature belongs to the voter, even if it’s illegible. 

However, the complaint argues that the wording does not include a “clear standard” or “any instructions” on how to verify signatures, and suggests that this could also lead to ballots being discarded based on signature matching discrepancies. 

Although the wording is slightly different in the newest version of State Board guidance, this policy has not changed. County election officials are not directed to use signature matching, and are only checking signatures to make sure they spell out the voter’s name. 

County election boards will hold their first absentee ballot meeting on Sept. 29. Thus far, the State Board has not filed a response in court. 

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