Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON

North Carolina Senate Republicans proposed on Thursday an omnibus election measure that contains provisions vetoed successfully in past years by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper as well as other administrative changes that supporters argue will boost trust in election outcomes.

The legislation, which could receive a committee hearing next week, has been worked on for weeks, with input received from advocacy groups and former election officials among others, a bill sponsor said.

Among the vetoed items considered again in the combined bill are those that would stop accepting certain absentee ballots received after Election Day, create a process to keep more non-U.S. citizens off voter rolls and prohibit private funds from being used to run elections.

“Our hope is that this will restore some confidence in many citizens in their voting process,” state Sen. Ralph Hise, of Mitchell County, told reporters earlier Thursday.

Critics have called the duplicate measures from previous years a method by Republicans to discourage voting in a closely divided state.

“Republican lawmakers want to safeguard their power, not our votes,” Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, of Wake County, and House Minority Leader Robert Reives, of Chatham County, said in a prepared statement.

The measure could withstand political opposition from Cooper this year now that Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers for the first time since 2018.

One previously vetoed provision would remove the state’s three-day grace period after an election for an absentee by-mail ballot to arrive for it to be counted. Instead, all such ballots would have to be submitted at a county board of elections office, whether by mail or in person, before 7:30 p.m. on the day of the election, when polls close statewide.

“Making Election Day the official deadline removes confusion and skepticism from the minds of voters,” said another bill sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton, of Cabarrus County, in a statement.

Republicans also would try again to bar election boards and officials in counties from accepting private money to administer elections. Millions of dollars from outside groups went to North Carolina to run the 2020 elections, particularly to address COVID-19-related challenges.

Republicans argue the outside donations to government agencies create the impression of undue influence.

And another vetoed provision would tell North Carolina courts to send information to election officials about potential jurors being disqualified because they aren’t U.S. citizens. Ultimately they would be removed from voter rolls. Cooper said in his 2019 veto message that it would increase the risk that legitimate citizens would be denied the right to vote due to bad jury-excusal information.

The measure also contains a host of other provisions, including a requirement that anyone who registers to vote at an early in-person voting site must cast a provisional ballot, which can be more easily challenged after an election.

The vote would be tabulated only if the voter’s address is verified through the current mail process or if the person provides a qualifying identification document by the day of the election.

The measure also would allow the public to inspect absentee ballots at meetings of county elections boards in the weeks before an election where members decide whether ballots received should be counted.

The bill comes as the State Board of Elections is preparing to carry out in time for this fall’s municipal elections a photo voter identification law that was upheld by the state Supreme Court in April.

Hise said Thursday that he did meet with Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who advised former President Donald Trump in his fight to overturn the 2020 election, as legislators considered the bill’s contents.

Hise said Mitchell, who lives in North Carolina, expressed concerns about election administration in the state but diminished her influence: “We listened and we felt like we had addressed what we needed to address in the bill.”

 

Photo via AP Photo/Gerry Broome.

 

Related Stories
‹
Elections Board, Absentee, Early Vote Changes Heard by North Carolina Senate Panel
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Republican senators began on Wednesday to attempt to advance wide-ranging voting measures addressing early and absentee balloting and transferring control over the state election board from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to legislative leaders. The sponsors of the two measures pitched to a Senate committee said they’re designed to […]
North Carolina Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Take Away His Control Over Election Boards
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Republican legislation Thursday that would take away his powers to choose State Board of Elections members and give them to legislative leaders as the 2024 campaign cycle begins in the closely divided state. Cooper already had signaled a veto was coming, which sets up override […]
North Carolina Republicans Finalize Passage of an Elections Bill That Could Withstand a Veto
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON The Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature finalized late Wednesday a far-reaching elections bill that would end a grace period for counting mailed absentee ballots, toughen same-day registration rules and empower partisan observers at polling places. The House voted 69-47 for changes it made to a measure that the Senate passed in June, […]
A Wide-Ranging North Carolina Elections Bill Is Advancing Again at the General Assembly
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Republican state legislators on Tuesday again took up a wide-ranging North Carolina voting bill that would move up the deadline by which absentee ballots must be received to be counted, bar private funds to administer elections and retool rules for poll observers parties pick for voting places. The House elections […]
N. Carolina GOP Pushes To Move Up Absentee Ballot Deadline
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM North Carolina voters who turn in their absentee ballots after polls close on Election Day could see them tossed out under a bill advancing in the state House. A GOP-sponsored bill that passed 14-7 Tuesday in the House Election Law Committee would remove the state’s three-day grace period after an election […]
Senate Democrats Pitch Bills To Expand Voting Access in NC
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Senate Democrats will soon offer bills to expand access to voting — a contrast to a new proposal by Republican colleagues on absentee voting that would restrict it, the Democrats said on Thursday. The Democrats announced they plan to file legislation that would make voter registration of eligible […]
North Carolina Republicans Seek Control Over State and Local Election Boards Ahead of 2024
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Republicans who control the North Carolina legislature with veto-proof majorities are close to wrestling supervision of elections from the governor and the governor’s party — almost always the Democrats for over a century. A bill that could reach Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk this week would, among other changes, take away from […]
North Carolina Governor Vetoes Election Bill, Sparking Override Showdown With GOP Supermajority
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a sweeping Republican elections bill Thursday that would end a grace period for voting by mail and make new allowances for partisan poll observers. In a video message, the Democratic governor accused legislative Republicans of using their slim veto-proof majorities to execute “an all-out assault on the right […]
Cooper Veto Power Still Intact as NC GOP Gains Limited
North Carolina Democrats appeared successful — but just barely — in preserving Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power to block bills on Tuesday.
NC Governor Vetoes Bill Barring Donations To Run Elections
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Republican legislation Thursday that would bar North Carolina election boards and officials in counties from accepting private money to run elections. The bill, one of several election-related measures pushed by GOP legislators this year, responded to the funds distributed nationwide — including millions of dollars to North […]
›