Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are moving swiftly to pass legislation limiting Democratic influence over elections following the likely loss of their veto-proof majority in the state House.
While Republicans will retain control of both the House and Senate, preliminary election results indicate they are one seat short of a veto-proof majority in the House. Furthermore, Gov.-elect Josh Stein is expected to wield more authority than his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Roy Cooper.
Both legislative chambers have approved a bill that reduces the governor’s oversight of elections, specifically shifting the authority to appoint members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (currently led by Democrats) from the governor to the Republican state auditor, Dave Boliek.
“The agility of the General Assembly was demonstrated this week as they passed important legislation, placing the state auditor in an oversight role over the state board of elections,” Jim Womack, president of the North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT), told The Federalist. “This puts the auditor in a good position to conduct an audit of our elections for the first time in history. That should encourage voters. “
Under the proposed bill, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) would remain an independent agency, but its budgeting and appointment powers would shift to the state auditor’s office. According to NC Newsline, NCSBE spokesman Patrick Gannon explained that this change would create a partisan divide favoring Republicans, resulting in a “3-2 Republican split” on the board. Additionally, the state auditor’s office would gain the authority to appoint the chairs of all 100 county election boards.
The bill also introduces stricter security measures for absentee voting. Currently, voters can correct missing signatures or incomplete witness information on absentee ballots up to one week after Election Day. Similarly, voters who fail to provide identification at the polls have an extended period to prove their identity. The new rules would reduce the time to address these issues to two and a half days.
These changes follow a controversial Supreme Court race in the state, where the Republican candidate led by 10,000 votes on Election Day but ultimately lost to the incumbent Democrat by a narrow margin after absentee and provisional ballots were counted. Those late-counted ballots have prompted official protests from various groups and candidates.
The bill also seeks to limit the time allowed for counting absentee and provisional ballots. Under the proposed law, absentee ballots would need to be counted on election night, and provisional ballots would be counted within three days.
The legislation now moves to Governor Roy Cooper’s desk, where it is expected to face a veto. However, a veto override vote is anticipated in early December as one of the final actions of the Republican supermajority.
