State Board Releases Number of Provisional Ballots Cast in October Municipal Elections | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     Under state law, election officials must release the number of provisional ballots cast in each county by noon two days after each election. The PDF at the following link shows the number of provisional ballots cast in the 20 counties with October municipal elections. Election Day was Tuesday, October 10.

    Read "Number of Provisional Ballots Cast by County and Voting Method -- October 10, 2023 Election."

    A voter may cast a provisional ballot when their name does not appear on the poll book or other questions arise about their eligibility to vote or to vote a particular ballot.

    The provisional voter fills out a form called a provisional application, which includes information that the county board can use to research the voter's eligibility.

    An in-person voter will also cast a provisional ballot if they are unable to show an acceptable form of photo identification when voting. The voter will cast a provisional ballot and do one of the following:

• complete an ID Exception Form, or
• return to their county board of elections office with their photo ID by the day before county canvass. (For the October 10 municipal elections, this deadline is October 16, the Monday following Election Day.)

    For voters who complete an ID Exception Form, the provisional ballot will be counted unless the county board of elections unanimously determines that information on the form was false.

    After Election Day, each county board of elections meets before certifying the results to make decisions on provisional applications submitted by voters. If the board determines that the voter is eligible, the provisional ballot is counted. If the voter is eligible for some contests on the ballot but not others, the eligible contests will be counted for that voter. These ballots will be added to the official results during the canvass process.

    Unofficial results for the October municipal elections are available on the Election Results Dashboard.

    County canvass for the October 10 elections is Tuesday, October 17.


   Contact: Patrick Gannon
   Public Information Director
   Email: patrick.gannon@ncsbe.gov