Hundreds of mail-in ballots rejected, State Board of Elections says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – Hundreds of mail-in ballots have been rejected and sent back to neighbors across North Carolina.

It’s still early in the mail-in voting process, but at last check, a little more than 10,000 ballots have been returned statewide. CNN reports about two percent of those ballots have been rejected for errors.

Since mail-in ballots were organized and sent out, the message has been to send it back early.

“That’s very important. Read your instructions,” Mecklenburg County Director of Elections Michael Dickerson said.

Not only does sending it back early ensure the postal service delivers it on time, it gives the NC State Board of Elections time to correct any of your mistakes.

The State Board of Elections reports hundreds of mail-in ballots have already been rejected for errors. The most common is the witness form on the envelope being filled out incorrectly.

The ballot-tracking system on the NCSBE’s website is now active. It will tell you when your ballot is accepted, or in rare cases, rejected.

If you don’t have access to that, your Board of Elections office will call or email you, but sending you a replacement ballot can take days, which, again, is why you’re encouraged to send your mail-in ballots back early.

“We try and send something out to them so they can take care of any deficiencies and send that ballot back to us and then have it brought back to us,” said Dickerson.

Extra workers have been brought in at the elections office in Mecklenburg County so you can also call to check on your ballot.

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