2020 BOE Monitor Training

Learn important tips to monitor your county board of elections so that voters have better access to the polls in 2020.

Support Strong Elections in Your County

Monitoring Elections-related County Meetings

Join us as a 2020 Democracy North Carolina BOE Monitor and closely follow this year’s elections at the local level.

Here’s what we know: COVID-19 has upended the way we usually vote in North Carolina. We also know that we need more oversight of local county boards as they work hard to administer elections amid last-minute rule changes, poll worker shortfalls, record absentee requests, and the need for unprecedented safety precautions. In 2020, that oversight means attending BOE meetings and/or calling elections staff from now through Election Day, quickly developing relationships with the BOE staff and members, and raising our voices at crucial times.

For the 2020 General Election, Democracy North Carolina plans to monitor the majority of North Carolina’s counties, and we especially need help in Anson, Camden, Catawba, Cherokee, Franklin, Gates, Hertford, Lenoir, Johnston, Pamlico, Pitt, Union, Vance, and Wilson counties. Our primary task will be to make weekly information-gathering phone calls to each of these counties.

We’ll send you everything you’ll need to prepare you to be a 2020 BOE Monitor, including:

instructional tools like a helpful training video
monitoring guidance and resources, including this step-by-step guide for making follow up phone calls to BOEs we can’t attend in person or virtually;
2020-specific BOE monitoring report form that allows you to more easily document what happens and let us know.

From there, we can work directly with you to ensure North Carolinians have access to safe in-person voting, a smooth vote-by-mail experience, and eliminate any barriers to voting.

NOTE: All BOE monitoring of meetings now occurs virtually due to COVID-19 precautions. No monitors are expected to attend in-person meetings or events.

Please contact Gino at gino@democracync.org if you have any questions or concerns.

The way voting laws are applied in North Carolina is often decided at the local level. We need to understand how the election system operates locally to make sure it works fairly. To be most effective, that means:

monitoring the actions of your county board of elections and county commission,
attending monthly board of elections and commission meetings,
developing relationships with county board of elections members and commissioners, and
raising our voices in support of good election budgets and voting options at crucial times.

Sign up to receive more information on how YOU can work to protect your county’s elections:

SIGN UP: Volunteer to Support Fair Elections in YOUR County

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Better Early Voting

Given the importance of 2020 decision-making on your county’s Early Voting plans, it was vital to have Early Voting advocates like you advocating for better Early Voting this year — and it worked! For the 2020 General Election, all 100 counties will have more sites and weekend options to allow for more safety and physical distancing when voters need it most.

Click here to find your county’s 2020 General Election Early Voting options.

During the current 17-day one-stop period, counties are required to offer Early Voting on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the final Saturday prior to Election Day.

NOTE: On July 17, 2020, the State Board of Elections issued an emergency order mandating all 100 North Carolina counties provide safe and secure voting access, including added sites, hours, and options for Early Voting. The order includes the following requirements:

All county boards of elections must open each early voting site for at least 10 hours on the weekends of October 17-18 and October 24-25.
Each county board must open at least one early voting site per 20,000 registered voters in the county. A county board of elections may apply for a waiver if its proposed plan sufficiently serves the voting population, maintains social distancing and reduces the likelihood of long lines.
Any county board with only one early voting site must arrange for a backup site and backup staff.
County boards may open early voting sites before 8 a.m. and remain open later than 7:30 p.m., provided that the sites all open at the same time.

Ways You Can Help Fight for Early Voting in Future Elections:

#1 – Watch our Early Voting Advocacy Training, full of expert guidance on how to help you win good Early Voting plans.

#2 – Print our Early Voting Advocacy Packet, full of resources to learn the best ways to influence the hours and locations your county offers voters during Early Voting and a paper report form for documenting what happens.

# 3 – Review prior county Early Voting plans and use it as a guide to prep & advocate for similar (or better) plans.

Quickly share out information about Early Voting discussions and planning from your County Board of Elections meeting with our EV Advocacy Report Form. Questions? For more information about how to advocate for better Early Voting Plans, please contact elections@democracync.org or call 888-OUR-VOTE.

"NC: Winning Better Early Voting Plans in 2020"

Help build people power to win robust Early Voting sites, days and hours in North Carolina's 2020 General Election using this 60-minute webinar.

ACTION STEPS

Email elections@democracync.org to share new information related to your County BOE’s meeting schedule and results. Questions? For more information for how to advocate for better Early Voting plans, call 888-OUR-VOTE.