The State Board of Elections said Wednesday that 3.1% of absentee ballots had been spoiled statewide, compared with 2.6% at the corresponding point in 2022. The board has not provided the underlying data, and its spokesperson said the agency could not confirm or disprove separate claims based on other figures.

Gov. Josh Stein said Tuesday that thousands more absentee ballots were being rejected and that the rate was twice as high as in 2022. His remarks followed a report drawing on county-level observations and projections. Common Cause NC, whose volunteers monitor county absentee-ballot review meetings, cautioned that those reports are not official counts and can reflect observations of meetings and minutes.

North Carolina adopted stricter requirements in September for how voters sign and seal absentee-ballot envelopes. The changes followed a legal challenge by the state Republican Party and Republican National Committee to earlier envelope-sealing practices. County election officials are required to contact voters when a ballot has a deficiency and provide a way to correct it.

County figures point to the new requirements as a factor in some rejections. Mecklenburg County Elections Director Mike Dickerson said about 250 of the county’s 572 spoiled absentee ballots so far were rejected over the new signing requirements. Officials had contacted all 250 voters; 50 had either returned a corrected ballot or voted early in person, he said.

Mecklenburg’s current total represents about 3% of 18,900 absentee-ballot requests. Across the full 2022 election cycle, the county spoiled 3,113 of 33,403 requests, or 9%. Because this year’s election cycle is still underway, those figures do not establish what the final rejection rate will be.

A federal judge on Oct. 19 allowed the new rules to remain in effect for this election. Voting advocacy groups, including the N.C. Alliance for Retired Americans, had sought to block them, arguing that valid ballots could be excluded. U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder said the challenge and request for an injunction came too late, noting that more than 31,000 absentee ballots had already been cast by the time of a hearing. He also found the plaintiffs had not clearly shown they were likely to prevail.

Voters whose absentee ballots are rejected can still vote early in person or at their polling place on Election Day. If a problem is identified by the Friday before Election Day, they may also receive a replacement absentee ballot. The State Board of Elections advises voters to follow ballot instructions closely, return ballots promptly and provide a phone number or email address so officials can reach them about problems. Voters can check their ballot status through the state’s voter lookup or BallotTrax.