united-states voting elections north-carolina
Is it legal to vote in a US election both through mail-in voting and through in-person voting at a polling station?
<p>Donald Trump recently made the recommendation for people to vote twice in the election: once through mail-in voting and once through in-person voting at a polling station: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-encourages-north-carolina-residents-vote-twice-test-mail-system-n1239140" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-encourages-north-carolina-residents-vote-twice-test-mail-system-n1239140</a></p>
<p>The article states it is illegal to vote more than once in an election. However, I thought I read somewhere that if you did what Trump proposed, they'd just have your in-person vote override your mail-in vote, as in they'd ignore your mail-in vote during the counting.</p>
<p>Is voting as described above by Trump illegal?</p>

<p>The criminal provision pertaining to double voting is <a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_163.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">GS 163-275(7)</a> says</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For any person with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at
more than one precinct or more than one time, or to induce another to
do so, in the same primary or election, or to vote illegally at any
primary or election.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So if the person does so with the intent to commit a fraud, it is a crime. There is no other criminal provision that makes it a strict liability crime, or &quot;to knowingly vote twice&quot;. The underlying theory (supported by parts of NC voting law) is that the government will catch and filter-out people who both vote absentee and in person. Perhaps an NC prosecutor could weigh in with a theory of how you could establish the intent element of the crime in this case.</p>
