---
type: "Bill"
title: "Absentee Voting Improvements."
description: "Absentee Voting Improvements."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nc"
legislature: "North Carolina General Assembly"
session: "2009"
identifier: "SB 253"
citation: "North Carolina SB 253 (2009)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["BOARDS", "CRIME CONTROL DEPT.", "DISASTERS & EMERGENCIES", "ELECTIONS", "ELECTIONS", "STATE BOARD OF", "EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT", "LAW ENFORCEMENT", "PRESENTED", "PUBLIC", "RATIFIED", "TITLE CHANGE", "CHAPTERED", "SEN. NESBITT", "SEN. ATWATER", "SEN. SNOW", "SEN. GOSS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 6
action_count: 21
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2009-02-19"
last_action: "2009-08-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/abba3c0a-a5e9-4388-80ca-1d456be063de"
source_url: "http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=S253&votesToView=all"
source_hash: "7c799d46f59dcd803c6cd1d214c390d4db68243910d5c81b1bfc91d49c1a04a1"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nc"]
---

# North Carolina SB 253 (2009) — Absentee Voting Improvements.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Filed** (filed) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v0.pdf)
2. **Edition 1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v1.pdf)
3. **Edition 2** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v2.pdf)
4. **Edition 3** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v3.pdf)
5. **Ratified** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v4.pdf)
6. **SL2009-537** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S253v5.pdf)

## Votes

- Second Reading — **109–0** (pass) · lower
- Motion 8\To Concur — **47–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Atwater — cosponsor (person)
- Goss — cosponsor (person)
- Nesbitt — cosponsor (person)
- Snow — cosponsor (person)
- Swindell — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2009-08-28** Ch. SL 2009-537 `became-law`
- **2009-08-28** Signed By Gov. 8/28/2009 `executive-signature`
- **2009-08-06** Pres. To Gov. 8/6/2009 `executive-receipt`
- **2009-08-06** Ratified
- **2009-08-05** Concurred In H/com Sub `amendment-passage`
- **2009-08-04** Placed On Cal For 8/5/2009
- **2009-08-04** Withdrawn From Cal
- **2009-08-03** Placed On Cal For 8/4/2009
- **2009-07-30** Rec To Concur H Com Sub
- **2009-07-30** Passed 2nd & 3rd Reading `passage, reading-2, reading-3`
- **2009-07-29** Placed On Cal For 7/30/2009
- **2009-07-29** Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- **2009-07-29** Serial referral to State Government/State Personnel is stricken.
- **2009-07-29** Reptd Fav Com Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2009-05-11** Ref to the Com on Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs, if favorable, State Government/State Personnel `referral-committee`
- **2009-05-11** Passed 1st Reading `reading-1`
- **2009-05-06** Passed 2nd & 3rd Reading `passage, reading-2, reading-3`
- **2009-05-05** Com Substitute Adopted
- **2009-05-05** Reptd Fav Com Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2009-02-23** Ref To Com On State and Local Government `referral-committee`
- **2009-02-19** Filed `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/abba3c0a-a5e9-4388-80ca-1d456be063de`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official North Carolina legislature records).