by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press February 17, 2025
To cast an absentee ballot by mail in North Carolina, voters must follow two simple steps. First, they need two witnesses to watch them sign the ballot envelope. Second, they need to attach a copy of an acceptable form of photo identification to their ballot. And if a recently completed pilot program is expanded to the entire state, there may soon be a third security measure: the use of a special machine to verify a voter’s signature.
North Carolina would be the only state to use all three security requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
During the 2024 primary, 10 counties participated in a “signature verification” pilot program. Now the results are in — and they’re not all positive.
What the numbers show
It was an experiment that cost over $450,000, mostly to pay for verification equipment for 10 counties. County boards incurred an additional $8,000.
The time commitment varied from county to county. In Durham County, the most populous participant, the program took 80 staff hours. In smaller areas like Bertie and Cherokee counties, the job only took an hour or two.
And the results are mixed.
In Rowan County, for instance, the signature verification software reviewed 308 absentee ballots during the primary election. It spit out 24 as potential mismatched signatures.
After a second, manual review, elections staff felt confident that all of the signatures actually did match except for one.
According to Sharon Main,Rowan County’s elections director, there was a pattern among the ballots needing additional review: The average age of the voter casting them was 67.
“When you looked at them, and you looked at the handwriting and you compared it to what was on file, you could still see similarities, but it was just shakier or more sideways,” Main said.
The verification software also got confused when comparing the absentee ballots’ ink and digital signatures on file from places like the DMV. Handwriting outside of signature boxes and other slight alterations were enough for the machine to reject some valid signatures.
After an initial machine review, 239 ballots — or 10.6% — of 2,235 were rejected.
However, a manual review of these signatures found just six that failed both tests.
Democracy NC, a grassroots organization that deploys personnel across the state to watch electoral processes, attests that much of what their monitors flagged also appeared in the pilot program’s final report made to the General Assembly by State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell.
“I think it’s a lot easier to say something and to pass a law than to actually think about the reality of how it would impact voters,” said Katelin Kaiser, the policy director for Democracy NC.
Good idea, poor execution?
The program suffered unexpected delays, according to Brinson Bell’sreport.
The State Board missed its first reporting deadline because it couldn’t find a vendor in time. Bell asked for at least six months to find a better vendor if the legislature decides to expand the program statewide.
After the scanners were finally delivered in June 2024, there were immediate issues. The machines had a hard time reading barcodes on absentee ballots. Some voters wrote outside small signature boxes, which complicated analysis. And reference signatures — handwriting compared to absentee-envelope signatures— had varying image qualities, depending on their age and origin.
Jay DeLancy, the executive director of a North Carolina organization called the Voter Integrity Project, was a supporter of signature verification six years ago. After research and speaking to software developers, he sent a PowerPoint presentation to lawmakers in 2018 recommending they spend federal funds on the effort.
But after reading the results of the pilot program, he’s changed his mind.
“I like the ideas behind it, but I think the application to elections, it’s just not going to work,” DeLancy said.
He also thinks absentee voting may fade away, which would negate the need for such a program. State Board of Elections turnout data shows that, with the exception of 2020, about 5% of North Carolina voters utilize absentee by-mail voting in most presidential elections.
With each verification system costing between $300,000 and $450,000, the math quickly adds up.
“I think there’s far better ways to spend the money,” DeLancy said.
No problems with these signature programs
Bertie County Elections Director LaToya Peele is grateful for the “head start” on what may become a permanent, statewide process. The pilot program went well in her county with only one ballot requiring a second review, she said.
Further south in Pamlico County, there were also no issues.
Halifax County Election Director Kristin Scott said staff encountered some of the same technical difficulties as other counties, but the process turned out fine. Still, she wouldn’t go straight to a statewide implementation right away.
“I think a lot of testing could be done with it just to make sure that what we’re doing is accurate,” Scott said.
Will legislature expand signature program?
Last year, the General Assembly passed new election deadlines in Senate Bill 382.
Now, county boards must begin counting absentee ballots on Election Night — and can’t stop until they’re done. Previously, additional meetings were allowed before the canvass — 10 days after the election. Now, all absentee and provisional ballots have to be counted by the Friday after the election instead of before the canvass.
Main is already worried about the new deadlineseven without signature verification as part of the equation.
“You add a signature verification pilot program on top of it? That’s going to be a really long day, and it’s already about a 15 to 16-hour day,” she said.
Maybe modifications can be made to the software, Main added, but she isn’t sure.
“If they do go with it, I’m going to do my best to meet that requirement,” Main said. “But I do believe that they need to realize how much extra time and power that’s going to take. I want them to be fair to us on that one.”
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 14:47:00
(The Center Square) – Called “crypto-friendly legislation” by the leader of the chamber, a proposal on digital assets on Wednesday afternoon passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Passage was 71-44 mostly along party lines.
The NC Digital Assets Investments Act, known also as House Bill 92, has investment requirements, caps and management, and clear definitions and standards aimed at making sure only qualified digital assets are included. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said the state would potentially join more than a dozen others with “crypto-friendly legislation.”
With him in sponsorship are Reps. Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake.
Nationally last year, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – known as FIT21 – passed through the U.S. House in May and in September was parked in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Dan Spuller, cochairman of the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative, said the state has proven a leader on digital asset policy. That includes the Money Transmitters Act of 2016, the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox Act of 2021, and last year’s No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State. The latter was strongly opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper, so much so that passage votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate slipped back to override votes, respectively, of 73-41 and 27-17.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a factual report on the passage of the NC Digital Assets Investments Act, highlighting the legislative process, party-line votes, and related legislative measures. It does not adopt a clear ideological stance or frame the legislation in a way that suggests bias. Instead, it provides neutral information on the bill, its sponsors, and relevant background on state legislative activity in digital asset policy. The tone and language remain objective, focusing on legislative facts rather than promoting a particular viewpoint.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 11:04:00
(The Center Square) – Hurricane Helene recovery in North Carolina is being impacted by a federal agency with seven consecutive failed audits and the elimination of hundreds of its workers in the state.
Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined a lawsuit on behalf of the state with 23 other states and the District of Columbia against AmeriCorps, known also as the Corporation for National and Community Service. The state’s top prosecutor says eight of 19 AmeriCorps programs and 202 jobs are being lost in the state by the cuts to the federal program.
Jeff Jackson, North Carolina attorney general
NCDOJ.gov
The litigation says responsibility lies with the Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump.
“These funds – which Congress already appropriated for North Carolina – are creating jobs, cleaning up storm damage, and helping families rebuild,” Jackson said. “AmeriCorps must follow the law so that people in western North Carolina can confidently move forward.”
Jackson, in a release, said 50 of the 750 volunteers terminated on April 15 were in North Carolina. Three programs with 84 people employed were impacted on Friday when AmeriCorps cut federal funds to grant programs that run through the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.
Project MARS was helping in 18 western counties, providing supplies and meals to homebound and stranded families. Clothing, crisis hotlines and school supports were also aided. Project Conserve was in 25 western counties helping with debris removal, tree replanting, storm-system repairs and rain-barrel distribution. Project POWER helped large-scale food donations for more than 10,000 people in the hard-hit counties of Buncombe, Henderson and Madison.
The White House has defended its accountability actions and did so on this move. AmeriCorps has a budget of about $1 billion.
Helene killed 107 in North Carolina and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said last year AmeriCorps has a legacy of “incompetence and total disregard for taxpayer money.” She was chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, which requested the report showing repeated failed audits and financial management troubles.
“AmeriCorps,” Foxx said, “receives an astounding $1 billion in taxpayer funds every year but hasn’t received a clean audit for the past seven years. As instances of fraud continue, the agency has proven time and time again incapable of reforming itself and should never be given another opportunity to abuse taxpayer dollars.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article presents an ideological stance that leans toward the right, particularly in its portrayal of AmeriCorps, a federal agency, and its financial mismanagement. The language used to describe the agency’s struggles with audits, financial troubles, and alleged incompetence reflects a critical perspective typically associated with conservative viewpoints, especially through the quote from Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx. Additionally, the inclusion of comments from North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and other Democratic officials highlights a contrast in political positions. However, the article itself primarily reports on legal actions and the consequences of funding cuts without pushing a clear partisan agenda, thus maintaining a degree of neutrality in reporting factual details of the case.
