A federal lawsuit filed Sept. 22 could change how Union County election officials handle mail-in ballots this November.

Three North Carolina nonprofits and two voters are challenging a State Board of Elections directive that requires county boards to spoil absentee ballots when the inner container-return envelope is not sealed, even if the outer return envelope is sealed. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, is what Carolina Public Press called the first election lawsuit of the 2026 cycle in the state.

The plaintiffs are the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, North Carolina Asian Americans Together and Down Home North Carolina, along with two individual voters. The national law firm of Marc Elias, which frequently represents Democratic Party groups, filed the case, according to WFAE.

The State Board adopted the envelope-sealing directive Sept. 4 in a 3-2 vote along party lines, with Democrats opposed, NC Newsline reported. That same day, the first absentee ballots of the 2026 general election were mailed to voters.

The lawsuit also challenges a new signature verification requirement. Plaintiffs argue the board provided no clear standards for how county boards should verify signatures or what to do when a signature cannot be verified.

The complaint alleges the rules will disenfranchise thousands of absentee voters who may not have time to fill out replacement ballots. If a county board finds an unsealed inner envelope, it must notify the voter within one business day. A new ballot is then mailed. But plaintiffs argue voters whose ballots are flagged close to Election Day will not have time to receive and return a replacement.

The rule has a partisan backstory. In 2024, the Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party sued the then-Democratic-majority State Board for counting ballots with unsealed inner envelopes. After the board flipped to a Republican majority, it agreed in December 2025 to reconsider the policy. The board first tried formal rulemaking, but enough public objection forced the process into a legislative approval track that would not conclude until 2027. The board then implemented the rules immediately through administrative memos, according to WSOC-TV.

The state legislature passed a law during the summer codifying the unsealed-envelope rule, but specified it would not take effect until 2027. Attorney Hilary Harris Klein of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice told WSOC-TV on Sept. 8 that the board bypassed that timeline by implementing the rules immediately through administrative memos.

Republican State Board member Stacy Eggers IV defended the directive at the Sept. 4 meeting. "The voter experience in casting their ballots will not change," Eggers said.

Gov. Josh Stein called the board's Sept. 4 decision "a slap in the face to voters who stood up to these changes and a blatant circumvention of the law," in a statement posted on X on Sept. 4.

State Board spokesperson Jason Tyson said the board does not comment on ongoing litigation, according to Carolina Public Press. The board hired private counsel rather than using Attorney General Jeff Jackson's office.

As of Sept. 23, nearly 84,000 absentee ballots had been requested statewide, NC Newsline reported. Union County has 185,507 registered voters as of Aug. 31, according to the Union County Board of Elections.

For Waxhaw-area voters planning to vote absentee, the deadline to request a ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. All ballots must reach the county elections board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.

There is no grace period.

Voters who prefer to cast ballots in person can do so at three nearby early voting sites starting Thursday, Oct. 15: the Waxhaw Recreation Barn at 5412 Waxhaw-Marvin Road, Wesley Chapel VFD Station 41 at 315 Waxhaw-Indian Trail Road South, and Wesley Chapel VFD Station 42 at 8821 New Town Road. Early voting runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays Oct. 17, Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Union County Board of Elections meets next at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 316-B East Windsor St. in Monroe. Voters can reach the office at 704-283-3809 or [email protected].