ASHEVILLE, NC (WLOS) — Absentee ballots are scheduled to be mailed to military personnel and non-U.S. citizens who have requested them on Friday, September 20, marking the official start of the 2024 general election in North Carolina.

Following a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling requiring 2.9 million ballots to be reprinted, the 100 county boards of elections across the state, with the help of StateBoard staff and printing suppliers, managed to print new ballots before the Sept. 21 federal deadline to mail ballots to voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), according to a press release from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

The press release said the various county election boards had originally planned to mail out absentee ballots on Sept. 6, which is the deadline for mailing absentee ballots under state law, but rulings by the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court caused a delay. The press release said the rulings required election officials to remove the “We The People” party line from the presidential race, as well as the party’s presidential nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and vice presidential nominee, Nicole Shanahan.

POSTAL VOTING DELAYED BUT ON SCHEDULE FOR RELEASE IN SEPTEMBER

This resulted in election officials having to encode, design, verify and print new ballots without the We The People party line.

“The hard work of the State Board staff, the County Board and our printing suppliers ensured that we were able to meet the federal deadline and begin voting,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the NC State Board of Elections. “Voters of North Carolina, please take responsibility starting now.”

The release states that State Board staff has been working to ensure that all 2,347 ballot types across the state will be available through the North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal. The release states that through the secure portal, any registered voter in North Carolina can request a mail-in ballot and that military or overseas voters can also receive and return their ballots electronically through the portal.

NORTH CAROLINA MAIL-IN BALLOTS ON HOLD AND MUST BE REPRINTED WITHOUT RFK JR.’S NAME

The county board of elections will begin mailing mail-in ballots to all other voters who requested them for the Nov. 5 election on Tuesday, Sept. 24, the news release said. Ballots will be sent through the U.S. Postal Service, but voters may not receive them for several days after they are mailed.

The press release states that as of Thursday morning, approximately 193,700 voters nationwide had requested absentee ballots, including nearly 16,000 military and overseas voters. For current data on absentee ballot requests, see the Daily Absentee Request Reports.

The press release contains the 10 tips for voters on voting by mail listed below:

1. Any registered voter in North Carolina can vote by mail. The easiest way to request a mail-in ballot is through North Carolina’s mail-in ballot portal. For more information about mail-in voting, visit Mail-in Voting. See also Detailed Instructions on Mail-in Voting.
2. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, October 29, at 5 p.m. However, election officials recommend requesting and returning the ballot earlier to ensure it is completed and received by the county board of elections by the return deadline. If you have already requested a mail-in ballot for this election, you do not need to submit another request. (For military members and voters living overseas only, the deadline to request is November 4, the day before Election Day, at 5 p.m.)
3. Completed mail-in ballots must be received by the precinct’s ballot committee no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day (November 5). (Military and overseas voters only: Deadline is 7:30 p.m. on Election Day for voters returning their ballot electronically and 5:00 p.m. on November 14 for voters returning their ballot by mail.)
4. Sample ballots are now available through the State Board’s voter search tool.
5. If you have any questions about your absentee ballot, contact your county election board.
6. Absentee voters (excluding military personnel and citizens living abroad) must present a photocopy of an acceptable form of photo identification when returning their ballot or complete and return the Photo ID Exception Form included with the ballot materials.
7. Absentee voters can track their ballots using BallotTrax starting September 24.
8. Voters who are not members of UOCAVA may return their ballot by mail or drop it off in person at their county board of elections or any early voting location during the early voting period (October 17 through November 2). See “Find Early Voting Locations.”
9. The cost of returning a mail-in ballot through the U.S. Postal Service has increased to $1.77 or three Forever stamps.
10. If you request a ballot by mail but do not return it, you can still vote in person during early voting (October 17-November 2) or on Election Day. Just throw your ballot away.