Stringer v. North Carolina
North Carolina
The NRF is supporting plaintiffs in a challenge to North Carolina’s restrictions on voting by mail. The lawsuit challenges the state’s ballot postage requirements, witness requirements, the deadline for election officials to receive mailed ballots, and the rules and procedures around signature matching. Stringer v. North Carolina was filed in Wake County Superior Court and alleges that the state’s restrictions on voting by mail violate state constitutional provisions related to free and fair elections and prohibitions on burdening the right to vote.
Each of the absentee voting restrictions creates an independently unconstitutional burden on the fundamental rights of North Carolinians to participate in our democracy, but when taken together, the cumulative impact of these restrictions imposes a severe barrier to the franchise for many eligible voters.
The troubled spring 2020 primary elections demonstrated how a state's failure to take adequate precautions to protect the vote amidst a public health crisis can derail the electoral process. This case is vitally important to ensuring that all eligible North Carolinians have a meaningful opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.