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HB 613

Motor Vehicles

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Patt Maney

HB 613 strengthens voter privacy by restricting access to voted ballots and requiring redaction, allowing only officials, courts, or redacted public records requests.

1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 613

HB 613 — Access to Voted Ballots (Summary)

Status: Introduced Nov 12, 2024; Passed first reading (per bill information).
Subject areas: ballots & ballot issues, elections, election boards, confidentiality, public records, privacy, counties, local government, public officials.

Main purpose

HB 613 clarifies and restricts public access to voted ballots and related records by treating voted ballots and any paper or electronic records associated with individual voted ballots as confidential. The bill defines who may access those records and sets rules for disclosure (including required redaction), and it creates a criminal penalty for knowing unlawful disclosure of how a particular person voted.

Key provisions

  • Codifies confidentiality: Voted ballots and any paper or electronic records tied to individual voted ballots are confidential.
  • Limits access to:
    • Elections officials performing their duties;
    • Court orders;
    • Orders of the appropriate board of elections in the course of resolving an election protest or investigating an alleged election irregularity/violation;
    • Responses to public records requests for all voted ballots of a precinct, ward, or other election district — but such disclosures must be redacted to prevent revealing how any particular voter voted.
  • Prohibits disclosure that reveals how an individual voted except as ordered by a court.
  • Penalty: A person who has access to a voted ballot or its associated records and knowingly discloses how an individual voted in violation of these rules is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
  • Effective date: the act takes effect upon becoming law (per bill text).

Who is affected

  • County/local boards of elections and elections officials (custodians and processors of ballots and election records);
  • Courts (requests/orders for access in litigation or election contests);
  • Members of the public, researchers, journalists, and entities that may submit public records requests for precinct-level ballots;
  • Election workers and any individuals who handle ballots (criminal penalty for improper disclosure applies).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • The bill amends G.S. 163‑165.1 (state election code provisions on ballots and records).
  • Effective immediately upon enactment (no delayed effective date specified).
  • The statute creates explicit redaction requirements for public disclosures of precinct-level ballots to protect voter secrecy.

Potential impact

  • Strengthens voter privacy protections by ensuring individual votes cannot be revealed through ballot access or records disclosures.
  • Preserves limited transparency: precinct/district-level ballots can be obtained via public records request so long as identifying information is redacted (maintains ability to review aggregate or non-identifying ballot images).
  • Increases compliance obligations for election offices — they must ensure redaction before public release and may face enforcement actions for improper disclosures.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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