Board approves six absentee ballots, reviews signature guidance and seal log as early voting continues

The Dare County Board of Elections reviewed and approved six absentee ballots — three civilian and three military — during its absentee-ballot meeting and discussed procedural guidance on signature comparison and ballot-chain-of-custody checks.

An elections staff member read guidance from a numbered memorandum and from North Carolina law that the county board should accept a voter—s signature on a ballot envelope if it appears to be made by the voter and absent clear evidence to the contrary. The staff member said that even illegible signatures are acceptable if they appear to be the voter—s mark. The staff member also said the board has previously accepted a photocopy of a voter—s photo ID where the photo is present even if an ID checkbox on the form was not marked.

The board voted to approve the six absentee ballots by voice vote. Staff described the current public-count and absentee tallies: early voting began Thursday, Oct. 16, and as of about 2 p.m. on the reported day there were 322 early-voting visits and, as of about 2:30 p.m., the total number of voters who had voted (including absentee returns and early voting) was reported as 327. Staff reported 51 absentee ballots had been issued to date (military, overseas and civilian) and 10 absentee ballots had been returned.

Staff also described a new seal-serial-number log for the ballot box: at each absentee meeting staff cuts the prior seal, records its serial number, places a new seal and has at least two board members verify and initial the seal numbers. The practice was presented as a way to maintain chain-of-custody documentation for ballots placed in the box at meetings.

The meeting concluded after routine verification of seals and signatures and an adjournment motion.