{"id":4786,"date":"2026-07-16T23:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4786"},"modified":"2026-07-16T23:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:05:44","slug":"nc-elections-board-approves-new-rule-making-it-easier-to-disqualify-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4786","title":{"rendered":"NC elections board approves new rule making it easier to disqualify ballots"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The North Carolina State Board of Elections on Thursday approved a series of new voting rules<\/a>, one of which will make it easier for officials to disqualify ballots from voters who don\u2019t provide identification.<\/p>\n

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The rules, adopted in a 3-2 vote by the board\u2019s Republican majority, will be in effect for the November midterms and beyond if approved by the state\u2019s Rules Review Commission.<\/p>\n

The new voter ID rule would allow county election officials to disqualify ballots by a majority vote if they don\u2019t believe a voter\u2019s reason for failing to provide identification. Currently, this requires a unanimous vote of a county elections board, all of which are composed of three Republicans and two Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is going to make these photo ID debates at the county level into a very partisan vote, and I think that\u2019s highly disruptive to voters\u2019 trust in elections,\u201d said Siobhan Millen, a Democratic member of the state board. \u201cI think we\u2019re opening ourselves up to potential problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy \u201cFour\u201d Eggers, a Republican member of the board, said he didn\u2019t believe the unanimity requirement complied with state law, which does not specify a vote threshold for discarding a ballot for this reason.<\/p>\n

The rule would require the board to issue a written decision \u201cbased only on facts and not speculation\u201d explaining its reasoning. The board would also be required to give the affected voter notice and an opportunity to address the board and defend their ballot.<\/p>\n

The other rules passed Thursday would slightly amend the recount process and ban the use of amplified sound near polling places.<\/p>\n

Democratic board member Jeff Carmon objected to the sound rule, saying the board was \u201cdiscouraging people from being excited about voting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eggers said his time working in county elections led him to believe the rule was necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are times at which the chief judge is called upon to maintain order and decorum within a precinct, and this provides tools consistent with the statute for them to do so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Thursday\u2019s meeting came on the heels of a flurry of stories about the influence of the Office of the State Auditor on early voting plans.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the auditor\u2019s election liaison, Dallas Woodhouse, resigned<\/a> after several news outlets reported on texts he sent to county election officials counseling them against Sunday voting or on-campus voting sites.<\/p>\n

Carmon began Thursday\u2019s meeting by requesting that the board subpoena Woodhouse to question him about his involvement in election planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese communications, for me, raise significant concerns regarding the appropriate boundaries between appointment authority and election administration, as well as the potential for improper influence over county board member decision-making,\u201d he said. \u201cGiven the seriousness of these allegations and the public attention that they have generated, I believe we have an obligation to establish a complete and factual record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eggers argued that such a request would not be in order because Woodhouse no longer works for the auditor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we start subpoenaing those who engage in First Amendment protected political speech to come in and discuss things with us and to address those, there\u2019s really going to be no end to that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a statement to The News & Observer after Thursday\u2019s meeting, Woodhouse defended his role in the auditor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mission was straightforward: help the Office of the State Auditor successfully carry out the responsibilities assigned to it by the General Assembly, support county boards during the transition, and work to ensure North Carolina\u2019s election system continued to serve voters with integrity while expanding voting opportunities wherever possible,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that after the 2026 voting plans were finalized, he believed they would show that \u201cNorth Carolina expanded early voting opportunities through additional locations, expanded hours, and increased opportunities for voters to cast their ballots. I am proud to have contributed to that effort alongside dedicated county election officials, the State Board of Elections, and my colleagues in the Office of the State Auditor.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 11:35 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Carolina's elections board approved rules making it easier to disqualify ID-less ballots, amending recounts and banning amplified sound near polling places.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNC elections board approves new rule making it easier to disqualify ballots - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC elections board approves new rule making it easier to disqualify ballots - 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