| Three Types of Voting and Ballots Yesterday there was a good turnout for the Trusted Elections Tour town hall. One question was whether ballots have a number that lets officials track voters. In short, Election Day ballots do not have individual numbers, Absentee and Early Voting do. The reasons are described below. Some Background A secret ballot (also known as the “Australian Ballot”) was not always used in elections in the United States. One of my favorite paintings is The County Election from 1854 by George Caleb Bingham. It currently in the collection of the Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. It shows the open-outcry method of voting. A line of voters (all White and male) ascend the stairs of what is presumably the courthouse, swears on a bible, and speaks their vote. To the left is a prospective voter imbibing (and possibly being bribed), while behind him is another voter in line who has passed out but is being carried up to “cast” his vote by another man behind. You can imagine the pressure that could be applied if your vote is known. By the late 19th century in the United States, this method of voting was discontinued. Over time, states adopted the “Australian Ballot” which has four components as described in Wikipedia: An official ballot printed at public expense, on which the names of nominated candidates of all parties and all proposals appear, being distributed only at the polling place, and being marked in secret. Ballots cast on Election Day in North Carolina comply with these components. What About Numbers on Ballots In North Carolina each county has numerous ballot styles to provide the voter with the proper selection of candidates for U.S. House, NC Senate, NC House, etc. Cabarrus bases its ballots on these candidates and if two precincts have the same candidates, it will have the same ballot style. My style for this election is B0003. This is true for the General Election; for the Primary, each party may have numerous ballot styles. Some counties code their ballots by precinct number. These numbers do not allow tracking back to the voter. Votes cast on Election Day do not have numbers by which the voter could be identified If you have to cast a Provisional ballot, perhaps due to not being able to produce a picture ID or registration question, the precinct election official will write precinct numbers on the ballot but this again does not identify the voter. Some Ballots Individually Numbered Ballots used in the Absentee-by-mail or Early Voting methods are individually numbered and connected to the voter. These ballots are called retrievable. In a case where the voter is deemed ineligible to have cast a vote, these ballots can be retrieved and the votes removed from the totals. Causes include: Voter dies between casting the ballot and 11:59 p.m. on the day before the election per H834,The same-day registration of an early voter is denied, orThe voter’s eligibility is challenged and the challenge is upheld. Wait! If I Cast an Absentee or Early Voting Ballot, Is My Vote Public? NO! In this case, your vote is not technically secret, it is confidential. State law G.S. 163-165.1 addresses this issue. Only in very rare instances will a voted ballot be associated with an individual. Knowingly disclosing how a ballot was voted, unless a court orders otherwise, is a Class 1 misdemeanor and can be punished by 120 days in jail and a fine to be determined by a court. For those who want the specific wording . . . § 163-165.1. (e) Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of individual voted ballots shall be treated as confidential, and no person other than election officials performing their duties may have access to voted ballots or paper or electronic records of individual voted ballots except by court order or order of the appropriate board of elections as part of the resolution of an election protest or investigation of an alleged election irregularity or violation. Voted ballots and paper and electronic records of individual voted ballots shall not be disclosed to members of the public in such a way as to disclose how a particular voter voted, unless a court orders otherwise. Any person who has access to an official voted ballot or record and knowingly discloses in violation of this section how an individual has voted that ballot is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Practically, elections officials dealing with thousands of ballots are concerned with tabulating them and getting the results to the public instead of how any one ballot is voted. |
Election Information All persons voting in person in NC will be asked to show photo ID: ncsbe.gov/voterid Early voting starts October 15th for the 2026 General Elections Check your NC voter registration and Election Day voting location at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ Vote at your precinct 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. Request an Absentee Ballot Absentee Ballot Portal (ncsbe.gov) Track your NC Absentee Ballot State of North Carolina (ballottrax.net) You may hand-deliver your NC Absentee Ballot to your Board of Elections office until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. |