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Dare County elections board reseals unsealed return envelope, approves 25 absentee ballots for tabulation
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Summary
At its March 2 meeting the Dare County Board of Elections reviewed absentee ballots, followed guidance to reseal one unsealed return envelope, voted to submit 25 absentee ballots to the tabulator, and discussed scanner problems and duplication procedures; early voting turnout was reported at about 4,245 (≈13%).
The Dare County Board of Elections met at 5 p.m. on March 2 and approved submitting 25 civilian absentee ballots to the tabulator after staff followed written guidance to reseal a return envelope that had arrived unsealed though the ballot inside was sealed.
Kelly, the elections director, told the board there were 25 absentee ballots to review and that one return envelope arrived unsealed while the executed inner ballot envelope inside was sealed. She said staff followed a numbered memo’s guidance to reseal the outer envelope and to note it as a “sealed and returned envelope.” “Staff should, immediately put it back in and seal it with the notation sealed and returned envelope,” Kelly said while describing the procedure and the numbered memo she had on hand.
The chair asked for a motion to place the reviewed absentee ballots into the tabulator. A board member moved to submit the 25 civilian absentee ballots, stating they met the required qualifications; another participant seconded. The chair called for a vote and an audible “Aye” was recorded with no opposition voiced during the meeting.
Staff and board members also discussed ballots with unreadable marks and smears that initially resisted the scanner. The group tried rescanning the ballots in different orientations and considered whether to duplicate ballots for unclear contests or to cast certain ballots “as marked.” After inspection of specific ballots with multiple ovals or smears, staff proceeded to cast at least one ballot “as marked” when the scanner could not clearly detect voter intent.
Kelly also walked the board through routine sign-off steps: members were asked to initial a COI cutoff form, confirm counts, and add the date (recorded in the packet as 03/02/2026) before resealing ballot materials. At one point Kelly announced a public count figure (initially 41, later referenced as 66) for the materials under review.
The board received an early-voting update: Kelly reported 4,245 voters had voted during early voting so far, about 13% of the total turnout at that time. The board confirmed it would meet again at 5 p.m. the next day; that meeting will not be livestreamed. The meeting adjourned after a motion and second and an affirmative vote.
The board referenced a numbered internal memo for handling the unsealed envelope (referred to in the meeting as 2021-03) and completed required initials and signatures before finalizing the absentee packet.
