Groups sue North Carolina over new mail-ballot rules that could void votes

Four organizations, among them the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans and North Carolina Asian Americans Together, sued the state board of elections and two county boards over recent absentee-ballot rule changes. Adopted hours before ballots began mailing in early September, the rules now demand that ballots be sealed in an inner envelope and subject them to a new signature-matching test, despite lacking detailed guidance for counties.

Plaintiffs argue that these measures will cause valid ballots to be discarded and that voters will have little chance to replace them before Election Day. They assert the policies breach the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and could discard up to 3% of votes, roughly 9,000 ballots. The lawsuit seeks a federal injunction to stop the rules from taking effect. A state board representative did not respond to comment requests.