In Maryland I was told that absentee ballots are not counted, unless a race is so close that the absentee ballots might change the outcome.
Is this true in North Carolina? If so, is it also true of early voting, aka "One Stop Absentee Ballots"?
If it's true of early voting, then I'm very unhappy, because that's what I've done for the past 2 elections. Even if it's only true of mail-in absentee ballots, that deeply undercuts the argument that we should all vote absentee to create a paper record of our vote. Because in effect, instead of risking that our votes might not be counted, we would be ensuring that they will not be counted. I think this would be especially problematic if you were voting for a third party candidate which needed a certain percent of the vote for ballot access next time around.
2 Comments
In NC (and most other states), the early votes are actually counted early but those results aren't released until the polls close. I rest easy knowing at least in Durham they don't stop until all the votes are counted.
NC refuses to count any votes cast for constitutionally eligible persons unless the person who was voted for meets additional qualifications not contained in the Constitution but invented by the self-entrenching incumbents in the General Assembly (see NCGS 163-123(f) at http://tinyurl.com/dheeo). CURRENTLY, those qualifications do NOT include the stipulation "be voted for in person on election day instead of earlier or by absenteee." So, as long as you voted for someone you were told to vote for, your absentee will count.