2026-09-056brief

NC board votes 3-2 to reject mail ballots with unsealed envelopes or mismatched signatures

The party-line vote came hours before the state mailed its first midterm ballots.

North Carolina's elections board voted 3-2 to reject mail ballots with an unsealed inner envelope or a signature that doesn't match. The three Republicans outvoted the two Democrats. The guidance came the same day the first mail ballots went out to more than 46,000 voters.

  • Board composition: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats; the vote split along party lines.
  • New disqualifying defects: unsealed inner envelope, mismatched signature.
  • First batch: 46,000+ voters, mailed the same day.