RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has urged North Carolina voters to cast their ballots in-person, arguing that a last-minute rule change is causing a surge in rejections of mail-in ballots.

In a social media post Tuesday, Stein said the new policies, approved last month in a party-line vote by the Republican-majority State Board of Elections, are leading to “thousands more” ballots being rejected at a rate twice as high as 2022.

“It’s infuriating,” he wrote. “North Carolinians, please make a plan to vote this year, in-person if possible. And if you’re voting by mail, make sure you seal both envelopes on your ballot. Don’t let them take away your vote.”

A spokesperson for the State Board of Elections said the agency did not have the figures Stein referred to, but that preliminary data showed a “slight increase” in mail-in ballot rejections this year, about a half-percentage point higher than at this stage in 2022.

The new mail-in ballot rule requires election officials to “spoil” a mail-in ballot if the inner envelope is not sealed. The affected voter is sent a new ballot or allowed to vote in-person.

The specific figures Stein refers to appear to come from a report in Democracy Docket, a left-leaning outlet created by Marc Elias, a top Democratic lawyer. Elias’ firm has challenged the new mail-in ballot rules in court.

Earlier this week, a federal judge upheld those rules, saying that it would be “infeasible” to block them now since voting has already begun.

Democracy Docket’s report cites an analysis from Common Cause, a voting rights group, which said it compiled data from 27 counties that showed mail-in ballots being rejected at a rate of about 3%. The total rejection rate in 2022 at the end of the election was 1.5%

Jason Tyson, the spokesperson for the State Board of Elections, said that early state data does show a spoiled ballot rate of 3.1% this year, but the comparable rate at this time in 2022 was 2.6%.

“We continue to stress to all absentee voters the importance of closely following all instructions that come with their ballot,” Tyson said, “to ensure they comply with the law, and to return their ballots as soon as possible to ensure there is time to cure any deficiencies or receive a new ballot.”

County data on ballot rejections

The News & Observer has not independently verified Common Cause’s claims. However, some counties have shared similar information.

Wake County Board of Elections member Gerry Cohen said on social media Oct. 13 that county officials rejected 40 ballots for failing the sealing requirement at their latest meeting, which represented 2.5% of the total mail-in ballots at that meeting.

Mecklenburg County officials told The N&O on Wednesday that they have so far rejected 257 ballots for sealing reasons — accounting for roughly 4.6% of the total mail-in ballots cast there. Of those, 60 voters have returned a new ballot or voted early in person.

Also speaking to The N&O, Guilford County officials reported roughly 2% of ballots rejected for sealing reasons and Johnston County reported 4%.

The Common Cause analysis notes that the rejected ballots included in the 3% figure were not necessarily all in violation of the new sealing requirement. Several other deficiencies can lead to a ballot being thrown out, including a lack of ID.

As of Wednesday, more than 924,000 North Carolinians have cast their ballots — roughly 5% of which came by mail.

Voters can track the status of their mail-in ballot using the online tool Ballottrax.

Detailed instructions on how to vote by mail can be found on the State Board of Elections’ website.

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