State Board of Elections
State officials move to curb another dangerous virus that threatens North Carolina
As the global pandemic has reminded us with tragic ferocity in recent years, viruses can, despite our best efforts, be enormously destructive and hard to contain – especially as our world has grown ever-more-crowded and interconnected. And sadly, that goes not just for physical viruses like COVID-19, but viruses of the mind as well. In the era of instant global communication, it’s easier than ever for ideas – even delusional lies and fantasies – to spread like wildfire and do enormous damage before they are exposed and debunked.
State elections board rejects NC GOP signature matching request for absentee ballots
The NC Board of Elections, in a 3-2 party line vote, rejected state Republicans’ request for signature verification on absentee ballots. Republicans wanted local elections officials to be able to compare voters’ signatures on their registration cards against signatures on requests for absentee ballots and on the returned ballots.
The NC GOP’s copycat crusade against voting rights continues
It’s a familiar childhood scene – perhaps even from your own. A group of cool, older kids engages in some kind of rebellious action or expresses a shared opinion on an issue of perceived import and soon thereafter, a younger sibling or friend, trying hard to keep up, attempts to mimic their behavior or statements. The younger kid never gets it quite right, or often, even fully grasps the substance of the subject matter, and their behavior will likely be barely acknowledged by the older ones...
State Board of Elections will rule on GOP request for signature checks on mail-in ballot requests
Proponents tout election security, but opponents say signatures change and predict significant voter disenfranchisement The North Carolina Republican Party wants local county elections officials to set aside requests for absentee ballots and double-check the mail-in ballots themselves based on whether they think voter signatures match.
Another Election Day that most North Carolinians will sit out
Today is primary Election Day in North Carolina. Across our state, voters will make scores of important decisions about the future of our democracy. In many places, Democrats and Republicans will select the two finalists in a host of key contests – from the United States Senate to the state legislature to the state courts. In many others, where one party or the other dominates, today’s vote will effectively decide the outcome of the election.
Monday numbers: A closer look at the counties where unaffiliated voters top Democrats and Republicans
North Carolina marked a major milestone last week. Unaffiliated voters surpassed Democrats and Republicans as North Carolina's largest group of voters. Independent now make up 34.6% (2,503,997 ) of North Carolina's registered voters. That edges out Democrats at 34.5% (2,496,434) and Republican at 30.3% (2,192,073). Libertarians (48,654) make up 0.7% of the state's voters.
Conservative groups target state, local voter registration rolls with multiple lawsuits
North Carolina’s voter rolls are like a refrigerator that needs to be cleared periodically of rotting milk and other items past their expiration date, according to Jason Torchinsky. Torchinsky is a lawyer representing Republican plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to force the state to more regularly maintain its voter rolls. But Jeff Loperfido, an attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Experts warn against ‘sham election audits’ movement
Experts from four different national nonprofits (the Brennan Center for for Justice, Protect Democracy, Fair Fight Action and States United Action) came together last week at an online panel discussion to examine the latest worrisome trend in undermining democracy: illegitimate election recounts.
Senate committee rehashes 2020 battles over election rules – here’s what happened and what they were debating
Republicans on the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee questioned the legitimacy of rule changes enacted last year by the State Board of Elections in a contentious two-hour hearing Tuesday with the board's executive director Karen Brinson Bell. Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican co-chairing the committee, described the board's settlement with voting rights groups, which resulted in a modified process of voting, as "secretly negotiated" and motivated by partisan advantage.
Campaign watchdog’s complaint: Two more state lawmakers engaged in unlawful Berger-like double-dipping
Bob Hall reiterates call for Senate leader to pay back per diem funds Earlier this year, as readers will recall, veteran North Carolina campaign finance watchdog Bob Hall helped prod the General Assembly and State Board of Elections into adopting new bars on the practice by which a state lawmaker would “double dip” when it […]
Pass it on: Now is the time to sign up to help at the polls
The good people at the group Higher Ed Works published the following call to action last week that they directed at college graduates. The truth, however, is that the plea is applicable to all healthy North Carolinians, regardless of whether they attended college or not. Please share the message with friends and family members ASAP. […]
Bipartisan elections bill filed; would quell some voter access concerns amid COVID-19
The bipartisan election bill North Carolinians have been waiting weeks to see is finally here. House lawmakers filed House Bill 1169 this morning, and it contains a lot of the measures the State Board of Elections and voting rights advocates have asked for to prepare for conducting an election in the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill […]