North Carolina Republicans send sweeping voting restrictions to governor’s desk

The Republican-controlled North Carolina House approved two elections bills Tuesday that would shorten early voting in key contests, make it easier to challenge ballots and reshape how voter disputes are handled — sending the measures to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.

The House voted 62-46 to concur with the Senate’s changes to House Bill 958 (HB 958), an expansive elections measure that Democratic lawmakers warn will erect new barriers for eligible voters. The chamber also voted 74-35 to approve the Senate version of House Bill 834 (HB 834), which contains administrative election provisions that senators separated from the original package.

Both bills will now be enrolled and sent to Stein. The governor has sharply criticized HB 958, and signaled that he is likely to veto it.

HB 958 cuts early voting for primaries, runoffs and special elections from 17 days to 10, although the reduction would not apply to general elections. It also pushes the deadline for challenging early and absentee ballots from the close of voting on Election Day to the third business day after an election — allowing challenges to be filed after preliminary results are known.

The bill further expands voter roll maintenance, requires registration applications to affirmatively indicate that the applicant is a U.S. citizen and directs the Division of Motor Vehicles to routinely provide residents’ full Social Security numbers to the State Board of Elections.

“The voting process in a democracy is central to it. The voting process is the brain and spinal cord of our democracy,” state Rep. Abe Jones (D) said. “This bill and the one previously voted on, the public will not have a chance to digest the changes before the elections that take place in early November, and for that reason, primarily, I’m voting against it.”

State Rep. Phil Rubin (D) warned that the Senate had stripped out protections negotiated in the House and made an already restrictive measure even more dangerous.

“This bill, which I stand against again, because it has gotten affirmatively worse than the bad bill that came from the House,” Rubin said. “It offends due process, and fundamentally, it offends the right to vote.”

HB 834, titled “State Board of Elections Administrative Changes,” includes some changes requested by election administrators. But state Rep. Pricey Harrison (D) warned that it also changes where voter challenge cases may be heard, potentially letting litigants seek out favorable judges.

“This bill still has a provision in here that allows judge shopping with voter challenges,” Harrison said. “So I’m going to be voting no.”

As lawmakers prepared to vote on HB 958, protesters in the House gallery repeatedly chanted, “The people united will never be defeated.” The presiding officer warned that the gallery could be cleared before the House proceeded with the vote.

The measures are the latest Republican effort to restrict voting in a state where narrow margins and repeated litigation have made access to the ballot a central political battleground.