The Center for Election Confidence (CEC) submitted comments to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) concerning proposed statewide rules for voting sites, buffer zones, curbside voting areas, electioneering zones, and conduct at voting locations.

CEC supports the rules in concept. Requiring county boards to establish voting-site boundaries before each election, to mark those boundaries visibly before voting begins, and to provide sufficient space for curbside voting would reduce Election Day confusion and help voters, campaigns, and election officials understand where particular activities may occur.

CEC urged NCSBE to require site-specific maps showing entrances, exits, buffer zones, curbside areas, electioneering zones, accessible routes, parking, and areas outside county-board control. Those maps and the underlying county-board resolutions should be made available before voting begins and preserved with election records. Material changes caused by weather, construction, safety concerns, or facility-access problems should also be documented.

The comments further recommend that the final rules define “election-related activities” precisely, correct apparent cross-reference errors, clarify the scope of county-board authority on property it does not control, and require electioneering zones to be administered in a content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral manner. CEC also urged the Board to identify objective factors for determining when additional electioneering space is needed.

CEC raised particular concern with respect to a proposed noise rule that could treat sound as prohibited merely because it is audible inside the voting enclosure. “Mere audibility should not be enough,” CEC explained. The final rule should instead address noise that materially disrupts voting or interferes with communication, provide a warning where practicable, and require written documentation of enforcement actions.

CEC urged NCSBE to adopt the rules with these clarifications so voting sites remain orderly, accessible, transparent, and neutrally administered.