Some states allow ballots if voters die before Election Day

NORTH CAROLINA (AP) — Ballots cast by people who vote early but die before Election Day are sometimes cited as proof of voter fraud, but in many states they’re perfectly legal.

Seventeen states prohibit counting ballots cast by someone who subsequently dies before the election, but 10 states specifically allow it.

In North Carolina, a ballot cast by someone who subsequently dies can be set aside if a challenge is filed before Election Day with the county board of elections.

NC is a presidential battleground this year and is among the states that prohibit a ballot from being counted if the voter dies after submitting it.

Questions over whether ballots will count if someone votes early but dies before Election Day are especially pressing this year, amid a coronavirus outbreak that has been especially perilous for older Americans.

People 85 years and older represent nearly one in three deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.