The North Carolina Board of Elections will not force counties to use hand-marked paper ballots in upcoming elections. The new board chair Damon Circosta split from his fellow Democrats in a vote Friday to side with two Republicans on the board.
Circosta is the executive director of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation and had a previous stint on the NC Board of Elections as an unaffiliated voter. He is now a registered Democrat. Election security advocates say electronic-only voting systems leave the state vulnerable to potential hacking.
Host Frank Stasio speaks with WRAL statehouse reporter Travis Fain about the board’s vote and about a bill to tighten the rules around absentee ballots in North Carolina in an effort to prevent election fraud. Note: WUNC receives grant money from the A.J. Fletcher foundation.