North Carolina Rejects Republican Signature Matching Proposal for Mail-in Ballots

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, July 14, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) denied a request from the North Carolina Republican Party to allow county boards of election to accept or reject mail-in ballots based on whether a voter’s signature on their mail-in ballot matches the signature on their voter registration. The board voted 3-2 along party lines to reject the request.

In rejecting the request, NCSBE Chair Damon Circosta (D) noted that North Carolina already has “an extraordinarily secure absentee ballot process” and that adding signature matching “would introduce a level of uncertainty where some voters might be treated different than other voters.” North Carolina law already requires absentee ballots be filled out in the presence of two witnesses or a notary, more stringent identification requirements than in most states.

The chair of the state Republican Party is now considering appealing the board’s decision to the Wake County Superior Court.

Read the Republican request here.