Public objections pause new voting restrictions in North Carolina – at least for now

A slate of anti-voting measures in North Carolina is unlikely to take effect before the November midterms because the public raised enough objections to trigger a review by state lawmakers.

The voting restrictions approved by the Republican-controlled Rules Review Commission include tightening ID requirements to register to vote and stricter mail voting standards.

However, the measures drew enough written objections from the public – including from Gov. Josh Stein (D) – that they must now be reviewed by the General Assembly. However, the legislature is currently out of session until November, making it unlikely that the restrictions will be in place before the midterms.

The Republican-controlled North Carolina State Board of Elections had approved the restrictions in July despite sharp criticism from the public. 

One rule would make it easier for local election officials to throw out votes, lowering the threshold for a local board to reject the form voters submit when they don’t have photo ID. Previously, a unanimous vote was needed. Under the new rule, a simple majority could reject a ballot. 

Another set of rules would make it harder to count  votes with technical envelope “irregularities.” Previously, ballots with certain irregularities were counted without requiring voters to take additional action. The new rules would require voters to submit written attestations to remedy an issue. 

In a letter to the board, voting advocates at Common Cause North Carolina argued the new rules about ballot irregularities “require significant further action by eligible voters to save their own vote, introduce additional inefficiencies and burdens on staff time, and fail to accomplish objectives related to integrity of our elections that existing rules already achieve.”