ALERTs

NC House Bill 66 seeks to cut early voting days from 17 to 6. LWVNC President Jennifer Rubin speaks out on what impact this will have.

Rule changes and the email address are here.

NC Board of Elections (NCSBE) opens public comment sessions for rules changes now through April 21. Changes regard election observers, election protests and recounts. To comment, the email address for the NCSBE public information officer is provided.

FUTURE OF NC ELECTIONS IS A SUCCESS

This report was released on February 4 by the NC Network for Fair, Safe, & Secure Elections. This is a bipartisan group co-led by former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts (D) and retired NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr (R) and supported by the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Final Meeting of the Commission on the Future of N.C. Elections is a Success

Following fourteen months of investigation, research, and deliberation by committee, the Commission on the Future of North Carolina Elections released its final report at a meeting at Catawba College on February 4th. The report offers an in-depth, cross-partisan analysis of the state’s election processes and administration, marking a major step in evaluating and strengthening North Carolina’s election system.

The Commission, supported by Catawba College’s Center for N.C. Politics & Public Service, and a grant from Interfaith America, produced a nearly 200-page report examining eleven key areas of the state’s election system – from voter registration to election challenges & protests. The Commission found that:

Our election system is well-administered and secure.
The state employs strong safeguards, including a requirement that every ballot has a paper backup, and strict prohibitions on electronic ballot marking devices being connected to the internet.
Commission research determined that there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.
Despite this, the report finds that many voters remain unaware of these security measures, fueling skepticism about election integrity.

Among the consensus findings are the following points:

Public education is a key priority. The report highlights the impact of rampant misinformation and declining local news coverage in shaping public misperceptions of elections.
Election offices are often underfunded, and staff turnover is high. The commission recommended salary increases, better security measures for election workers, and broader training of student interns as election workers.
Unaffiliated voters are underrepresented on boards of elections and as candidates in North Carolina. The Commission recommends reconsidering restrictions on unaffiliated voters and candidates to reflect the changing voter landscape.

LWVNC is tracking legislation on voting rights and structural governance as we work to defend our democracy. The NCGA has only been in session for a few weeks, so we are likely to see more bills filed soon.

This will be a “long-session,” which is defined as a regular session that begins in January of each odd-numbered year and then adjourns to reconvene the following even-numbered year for a shorter session. Bills will be added daily, with most activity occurring close to the crossover deadline of May 8, 2025. That means most bills will have to have passed one chamber, House or Senate, by this date to be considered for final approval. There are exceptions, of course.

It may be too soon to assess the themes in this year’s session. Clearly, much of the attention will be on the budget and the continued need to support rebuilding efforts in Western NC, following Hurricane Helene. We expect some legislation to result from both the election administration changes in last year’s SB 382 and any fallout from the resolution of the Griffin Campaign Supreme Court Seat 6 voter challenges.

Listed below are bills filed through Feb. 12. The NCGA tends to move some bills very quickly, so there may be little notice on follow-up hearings or votes. We suggest that you look at these bills closely, especially the bills affecting VOTING RIGHTS.

The NCGA provides little advanced notice that would allow significant advocacy before a vote is taken. While we will do our best to highlight opportunities for advocacy on bills, especially those affecting VOTING RIGHTS, we hope that you will reach out to your legislators before a vote is taken.

The health care bills would effectively ban any further expansion of the list of procedures that health insurance must pay for. The rules would apply to people on other insurance plans – including from the individual marketplace or some private group plans, as well as the 750,000 government workers, retirees, and family members on the State Health Plan.
Bills SB 58/HB 72 add to restrictions already in place from SB 382 passed last year (banning the attorney general from arguing in court that anything the legislature has done is unconstitutional, or from taking stances in court that Republican legislative leaders disagree with). These new bills would prohibit North Carolina’s attorney general – currently Democrat Jeff Jackson – from making any legal argument that would invalidate “any executive order issued by the President of the United States.”

VOTING RIGHTS

SB 10 Mobile Drivers Licenses

SB 14/ HB 93 Constitutional Amendment/Repeal Literacy Test

HB 31 Make Election Day a State Holiday

HB 66 Reduce Early Voting Period

HB 85 Certain Prohibitions/Working/Voting Process

HB 127 Voter Registration Drive Form

REDISTRICTING

HB 20 Fair Maps Act

STRUCTURAL GOVERNMENT

HB 64 Const. Amend. - Gubernatorial Clemency

HB 72/SB 58 AG/Restrict Challenge to Presidential EOs