RALEIGH, NC – The next local elections in North Carolina are fast approaching, and as voters prepare, there are still some questions about what the final rules and regulations for the election will be.
Before this legislature, Presentation of the Senate Republicans two bills that would rework the state’s election boards and change some of the rules about voting.
What you need to know
Republicans introduced two bills to make changes to election boards and voting rules
One provision eliminates the three-day grace period for county election boards to receive absentee ballots
One advocate says that could mean thousands of ballots are not counted
The bill’s sponsors say that practice is already in place in dozens of other states
Both have passed the Senate but have not yet passed the House.
One aspect of the legislation affects absentee voters.
Renu Shah is an absentee voter from North Carolina and active in paying attention to politics.
“I’m a democrat. My husband is this way or that way, he likes to listen to other people, what he says, but he believes in democracy, and I’m a total democrat.”
He had to vote by mail in the last election because he had surgery before.
“So I’m doing a lot of surgery on myself, because I’ve had shoulder surgery, back surgery, foot surgery. I had another foot surgery this year, so because of of all these things I can’t walk, that’s why I want to vote in absentia,” said Shah.
Under this legislation, there would no longer be a three-day grace period for absentee ballots to reach county election boards.
Under current law, they must be stamped on Election Day and arrive within three days.
Shah is worried about what could happen if her vote is delayed in the future.
“I’m concerned that if they do these things about voting, absentee voting, my vote might not count, and I want my vote to count,” Shah said.
Sponsors of the legislation said that’s a deadline dozens of other states have and is unreasonable.
They said there’s plenty of time for absentee voters to send in their ballots and that it’s part of a larger goal to instill more confidence in North Carolina elections.
DeMonte Alford disagrees with that characterization of the bill. He is a regional managing organizer for Democracy North Carolina, a political organizing group.
He said such a change would hurt voters in both parties.
“Inclement weather or disasters can delay the post office getting those ballots. So we’re talking about potentially thousands of voters, through no fault of their own, with nothing they can do to change themselves, the votes of which will be thrown. away,” Alford said.
Shah notes that the federally protected deadline for overseas military votes is not affected by this bill, and he does not understand why lawmakers would make this change.
“They should understand about the elderly, who sometimes can’t even go to the polls, to vote,” Shah said. “So they’re doing it for the military, why couldn’t they do it for the seniors who can’t go to the booth to vote?”
