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Record numbers of votes have been registered across North Carolina. As of Sunday, more than 1 million voters in North Carolina had cast their ballots, hitting record numbers compared to the previous presidential election in 2020. In Duplin County alone, there were more than 1,900 voters on the first day of early voting.
“We have seen great turnout so far for Early Voting. We saw 1,968 voters on the first day with continuous lines of excited voters,” Carrie Sullivan, Duplin County Board of Elections director, told Duplin Journal. “It is great to see so many people excited to have their voices be heard. Lines have been moving quickly and our voters seem to be happy with that. We look forward to seeing a great turnout in the county for this election.”
As of Sunday, a total of 4,332 votes were cast; of those, 4,123 were in-person, early voting, and 208 by mail.
The Duplin County Board of Elections is actively working to ensure a smooth voting process and to address citizens’ concerns.
Sullivan shared that earlier this year, a group conducting voter registrations raised worries among local voters when they didn’t collect necessary information such as dates of birth or the last four digits of Social Security numbers from the persons filling out the voter registration forms. Instead, they wrote down arbitrary numbers and submitted those to the DC BOE office.
“They were performing drives in parking lots in Kenansville at the Speedway and IGA, in Wallace at the Piggly Wiggly and Wal-Mart, and in Beulaville at the IGA,” Sullivan told Duplin Journal. “When this occurred, we did not change the voter’s information. Instead, we issued the voter an incomplete letter letting them know that there was a discrepancy between their original registration and the one that we had just received.”
Sullivan noted that the issues were addressed and they have not seen the group back in Duplin County since July. Under federal law, noncitizens who register to vote could face up to five years in prison and be subject to deportation.
“At the top of the application, they must check a box stating that they are a U.S. citizen. Individuals registering to vote must also sign the application, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens,” said Sullivan. “The language above the signature box states: ‘Fraudulently or falsely completing this form is a Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the N.C. General Statutes.’”
This is the third installment of Questions and Answers with Duplin County Board of Elections Director Carrie Sullivan:
The number of groups and individuals who say they want to help make elections more secure has grown rapidly in recent years. Many believe that voter fraud is widespread. Are there such groups in Duplin? What are they doing, and what impact do they have?
Voter fraud has become a big topic in elections in recent years. North Carolina has many checks and balances to ensure that elections are safe and secure. There are no such groups in Duplin that I am aware of at this time. I can assure the community that Duplin County follows all election laws, and we are committed to transparency and honesty in our processes.
What, if any, election misinformation is circulating in the community, and what are election officials doing to counter it? How is it affecting voters and their confidence in the election?
There is a lot of misinformation going around. It is easy for anyone to say something misleading on social media. And when people believe that misinformation and share it across their platforms to their friends, it spreads like wildfire. It is important for voters to fact-check their sources. One false piece of misinformation is that your ballot choices can be changed by the machine after you insert your ballot into it. This is completely FALSE. The ballot reads your markings for the choices that you selected; it cannot mark your ballot or change any information.
What we want voters to know is that we, just like them, want a fair election. We want the voters in Duplin County to call us if they have questions. Don’t just assume that everything rumor that you hear is correct.
A number of communities have restricted voter registration drives by partisan and nonpartisan groups. This has traditionally been an important way to sign up new voters, although sloppy registration drives have sometimes caused logistical or administrative headaches for election administrators. What is your take on this issue, and do we track how voters are registered?
I feel that registration drives are a very important part of the democratic process. It is good to have extra boots on the ground to get people registered. I believe on a large scale that most of these groups are doing the right thing, because they are increasing registration numbers around the state and are ultimately helping increase voter turnout. In my opinion, these drives should be happening every year because local elections are just as important as the presidential elections.
I will say that we have seen a group in Duplin County that was not doing the right things when it came to registration drives and were making voters concerned. We have addressed the issues with this group, and we forwarded our concerns about them to the State Board of Elections. Our office will always do our due diligence to ensure that no misinformation is spread and to instill continued confidence in our processes throughout the community.
Why are drop boxes so controversial?
I have no idea why people have issues with drop boxes. Ballot boxes are for voters to conveniently drop absentee ballots off to be processed. There are no ballot boxes in Duplin County. But to give voters a better understanding of the absentee process, every absentee ballot is numbered and assigned to a specific voter. You must also already be a registered voter to even obtain an absentee ballot. Again, there are checks and balances so that every ballot is accounted for. No absentee ballot gets accepted until all requirements are completed and met by the voter and until the Board approves them at an absentee meeting. The system flags and restricts voters from getting more than one ballot, even if they submit multiple requests. The system also prevents voters from voting by mail and in person in the same election cycle. Despite the misinformation out there, absentee voting is secure and there are safeguards in place to ensure that.
Early voting will continue through Nov. 2, persons who missed the voter registration deadline may register and vote during this period. Absentee ballots must be requested by Oct. 29 by 5 p.m. and they must be received in the Duplin County Board of Elections office by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day on Nov. 5.
