Curbside Voting
by Caitlin Mayo, BSW Intern
• State law allows for curbside voting in North Carolina.
• Statute: § 163-166.9. Curbside Voting
o In any election or referendum, if any qualified voter is able to travel to the voting place, but because of age or physical disability and physical barriers encountered at the voting place is unable to enter the voting enclosure to vote in person without physical assistance, that voter shall be allowed to vote either in the vehicle conveying that voter or in the immediate proximity of the voting place. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for the administration of this section. (2001-460, s. 3.)
• Curbside voting is intended for voters who are unable to enter their voting place without physical assistance due to age or physical disability and they are therefore permitted to vote inside the vehicle or in close proximity to the voting place.
• Voters are required to complete an affidavit swearing that they are a registered voter of their precinct and affirming that they are unable to enter the voting enclosure due to their age or physical disability without physical assistance.
• The voter receives their ballot, marks the ballot, and then returns it to the precinct official who returns it to the voting enclosure.
• More information about curbside voting can be obtained from your county board of elections.
• Another option for elderly and disabled voters is voting by mail-in absentee ballot from home. You can contact your county board of elections for information about obtaining a mail-in absentee ballot.
NASW-NC Social Work Blog 