NC elections officials want voters to wear masks. Here’s why they’re not required.
Masks and face coverings are common sites now in grocery stores, malls and anywhere else people congregate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But they will not be required at in-person polling places in North Carolina. Early voting starts Thursday and continues until Oct. 31.
In a June memo, the State Board of Elections stated, “Voters will not be turned away if they choose not to wear a face mask.”
Masks will be made available to voters who do not arrive wearing one, per that same memo. In a September press release, the state board said voters will be “strongly encouraged” to wear masks inside polling places.
Poll workers throughout the state will be given masks and required to wear them. Hand sanitizer will also be available at polling places, and votes will be cast with single-use pens.
Rachel Raper, the Orange County elections director, told The News & Observer the right to vote is constitutionally protected. That means people cannot be turned away from the polls, even if they are voting in a manner that conflicts with statewide public health measures like the mask mandate.
Gov. Roy Cooper first included face coverings in a June 24 executive order. Subsequent executive orders have further defined and occasionally tweaked the mask requirement, but it has always remained.
“Scientific evidence suggests that use of cloth face coverings by the public during a pandemic can help reduce disease transmission,” according to a guidance document prepared by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Voters who are uncomfortable with in-person voting due to the pandemic can request an absentee ballot. County boards of elections must receive absentee ballot requests by 5 p.m. Oct. 27.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 8:00 AM.