Numbered Memo 2022-12

North Carolina State Board of Elections

This memo to the North Carolina County Boards of Elections provides guidance to election officials on maintaining order at the polls. Former Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), Karen Brinson Bell, details the legal framework for polling site security, including buffer zone protections, voting enclosure rules, and the proper role of law enforcement when their presence is required. The guidance emphasizes that private security must be unarmed, that armed officers should avoid any appearance of monitoring voters, and that law enforcement presence should be carefully balanced against perceptions — warranted or otherwise — of voter intimidation.