CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many will be casting their ballots in 2024, and before you know it, absentee ballots will be available for the upcoming elections.
Does a vote still count in North Carolina if the voter hands in an absentee ballot but then dies before election day?
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Different states have different rules about this. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 10 states have statutes that prohibit counting absentee ballots for voters who die before election day.
Nine states have statutes that allow counting these ballots.
In North Carolina, Dickerson said an early ballot cast by someone who later dies can be set aside if a challenge is filed before election day.
"If I receive notification that someone has moved out of the county and they have voted and passed away or convicted of a felony and already voted during an absentee process, then if I have that official notification, then I have to remove that ballot," Dickerson said.
He said there are protocols that require official notification to nullify a ballot.
"I have to follow everything. I can't just start taking people willy-nilly off the records," Dickerson said.
If someone dies close to the election, it can take time for death records to be updated, and there is a small window between when the ballot is cast and counted.
Dickerson said there have been some challenges in the county when people die before the election. However, he said it's very rare.
"It’s not happened a lot, and if anyone can challenge that in the absentee process if it does, it can happen," Dickerson said.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.