§ 163-166.7. Voting procedures.
§ 163‑166.7. Voting procedures.
(a) Checking Registration. A person seeking to vote shallenter the voting enclosure through the appropriate entrance. A precinctofficial assigned to check registration shall at once ask the voter to statecurrent name and residence address. The voter shall answer by stating currentname and residence address. In a primary election, that voter shall also beasked to state, and shall state, the political party with which the voter isaffiliated or, if unaffiliated, the authorizing party in which the voter wishesto vote. After examination, that official shall state whether that voter isduly registered to vote in that precinct and shall direct that voter to thevoting equipment or to the official assigned to distribute official ballots. Ifa precinct official states that the person is duly registered, the person shallsign the pollbook, other voting record, or voter authorization document inaccordance with subsection (c) of this section before voting.
(b) Distribution of Official Ballots. If the voter is found tobe duly registered and has not been successfully challenged, the officialassigned to distribute the official ballots shall hand the voter the officialballot that voter is entitled to vote, or that voter shall be directed to thevoting equipment that contains the official ballot. No voter in a primary shallbe permitted to vote in more than one party's primary. The precinct officialsshall provide the voter with any information the voter requests to enable that voterto vote as that voter desires.
(c) The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for theprocess of voting. Those rules shall emphasize the appearance as well as thereality of dignity, good order, impartiality, and the convenience and privacyof the voter. Those rules, at a minimum, shall include procedures to ensurethat all the following occur:
(1) The voting system remains secure throughout the periodvoting is being conducted.
(2) Only properly voted official ballots or paper records ofindividual voted ballots are introduced into the voting system.
(3) Except as provided by G.S. 163‑166.9, no officialballots leave the voting enclosure during the time voting is being conductedthere. The rules shall also provide that during that time no one shall removefrom the voting enclosure any paper record or copy of an individually votedballot or of any other device or item whose removal from the voting enclosurecould permit compromise of the integrity of either the machine count or thepaper record.
(4) All improperly voted official ballots or paper records ofindividual voted ballots are returned to the precinct officials and marked asspoiled.
(5) Voters leave the voting place promptly after voting.
(6) Voters not clearly eligible to vote in the precinct but whoseek to vote there are given proper assistance in voting a provisional officialballot or guidance to another voting place where they are eligible to vote.
(7) Information gleaned through the voting process that would behelpful to the accurate maintenance of the voter registration records isrecorded and delivered to the county board of elections.
(8) The registration records are kept secure. The State Board ofElections shall permit the use of electronic registration records in the votingplace in lieu of or in addition to a paper pollbook or other registrationrecord.
(9) Party observers are given access as provided by G.S. 163‑45to current information about which voters have voted.
(10) The voter, before voting, shall sign that voter's name on thepollbook, other voting record, or voter authorization document. If the voter isunable to sign, a precinct official shall enter the person's name on the samedocument before the voter votes. (2001‑460, s.3; 2003‑226, s. 14.1; 2005‑323, s. 1(a1); 2005‑428, s. 12.)