§ 163-232. Certified list of executed absentee ballots; distribution of list.
§ 163‑232. Certified list of executed absentee ballots; distribution of list.
The county board of elections shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, alist in at least quadruplicate, of all absentee ballots returned to the countyboard of elections to be counted, which have been approved by the county boardof elections, and which have been received as of 5:00 p.m. on the day beforethe election. At the end of the list, the chairman shall execute the followingcertificate under oath:
"State of North Carolina
County of ______________
I, ______________, chairman of the ____________ County board ofelections, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a list of all executedabsentee ballots to be voted in the election to be conducted on the____________ day of ______________, ________, which have been approved by thecounty board of elections and which have been returned no later than 5:00 p.m.on the day before the election. I certify that the chairman, member, officer,or employee of the board of elections has not delivered ballots for absenteevoting to any person other than the voter, by mail or by commercial courierservice or in person, except as provided by law, and have not mailed ordelivered ballots when the request for the ballot was received after the deadlineprovided by law.
This the ______ day of ______, ______
____________________
(Signature of chairman of
county board of elections)
Sworn to and subscribed before me this ____________ day of ______,_____.
Witness my hand and official seal.
________________
(Signature of officer
administering oath)
________________
(Title of officer)"
No later than 10:00 a.m. on election day, the county board of electionsshall cause one copy of the list of executed absentee ballots, which may be acontinuing countywide list or a separate list for each precinct, to beimmediately deposited as "first‑class" mail to the State Boardof Elections. The board shall retain one copy in the board office for publicinspection and the board shall cause two copies of the appropriate precinctlist to be delivered to the chief judge of each precinct in the county. Thecounty board of elections shall be authorized to call upon the sheriff of thecounty to distribute the list to the precincts. In addition the county board ofelections shall, upon request, provide a copy of the complete list to thechairman of each political party, recognized under the provisions of G.S. 163‑96,represented in the county.
The chief judge shall post one copy of the list immediately in aconspicuous location in the voting place and retain one copy until allchallenges of absentee ballots have been heard by the county board ofelections. Challenges shall be made to absentee ballots as provided in G.S. 163‑89.
After receipt of the list of absentee voters required by this sectionthe chief judge shall call the name of each person recorded on the list andenter an "A" in the appropriate voting square on the voter'spermanent registration record, or a similar entry on the computer list used atthe polls. If such person is already recorded as having voted in that election,the chief judge shall enter a challenge which shall be presented to the countyboard of elections for resolution by the board of elections prior tocertification of results by the board.
All lists required by this section shall be retained by the countyboard of elections for a period of 22 months after which they may then bedestroyed. (1939, c. 159, s.6; 1943, c. 751, s. 3; 1963, c. 457, s. 6; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1973, c. 536, s.1; 1977, c. 469, s. 1; 1981, c. 155, s. 1; c. 305, s. 4; 1985, c. 600, s. 7;1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 54; 1999‑455, s. 12; 1999‑456,s. 59.)