GREENSBORO, N.C. — Another day, another change to the mail-in ballot rules. U.S. District Judge William Olsteen says he needs more time to issue a ruling on a tangle of lawsuits surrounding the State Board of Elections' changes to mail-in ballots.
The board of elections had approved changes that would allow voters to fix their ballots, instead of filling out a new one if there's a mistake. The board of elections says most ballots that get rejected is because people forget to have a witness sign the ballot before it's mailed.
The new rules would also allow ballots to be counted nine days after the election, as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3. A North Carolina Appeals Court judge had ruled in favor of the changes last week.
Just a few days later, Judge Olsteen issued a temporary restraining order on the changes after a lawsuit by State Senate leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore, and President Donald Trump's campaign.
Now, that ruling is on hold. Today, Judge Osteen heard oral arguments in a lawsuit over how mail-in ballots will be processed.
Osteen criticized a method that would allow voters to submit an affidavit instead of submitting a new ballot from scratch. But, he said he’d issue a written ruling at a later time. It's not clear if that means he'll decide after the Nov. 3 election.
This is a developing story. Stay with WFMY News 2 on air and online for the latest updates on this story.