Mail ballot distribution for the midterm elections commenced in North Carolina on Friday, marking the first statewide rollout as courts deliberated over restrictions on the voting method. The developments coincided with ongoing litigation surrounding an executive order signed by President Trump in March seeking to curtail mail balloting access. Election officials indicated they would proceed with ballot mailing as scheduled while closely monitoring the legal proceedings.
Trump’s directive proposed requiring states to submit lists of eligible voters to the Postal Service through an online portal and mandated that ballot envelopes comply with new postal rules including barcodes. A preliminary injunction against the order’s implementation was issued Friday, which the administration moved to appeal. Election officials expressed concern that publicity surrounding the executive order and court proceedings had already generated voter confusion about mail voting eligibility and procedures.
North Carolina’s State Board of Elections, led by a Republican majority, expressed confidence in administering a secure election and characterized preparations as proceeding normally. The state took initial steps toward compliance by submitting envelopes for Postal Service review and approval but opted against submitting voter information while litigation remained pending. Election workers in counties across the state completed preparations including ballot coding, accuracy testing, and envelope packaging ahead of the Friday deadline.
Separately, election officials nationwide pointed to Postal Service operational changes as contributing to mail ballot rejections. The agency’s shift to postmarking mail at distant processing centers rather than local post offices has been cited by officials in multiple states as a factor in delayed ballot delivery. In California’s June primary, nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected, primarily due to late postmarks. Wisconsin officials similarly reported hundreds of ballots arrived too late to count, prompting some municipalities to mail ballots earlier than usual.
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