Informing Democracy Statement on North Carolina Lawmakers’ Partisan Attempt To Upend Election Administration

Today, North Carolina Republican lawmakers attempted yet another partisan power grab seeking control over the operations of the State Election Board. This time they are attempting to hijack a Hurricane Helene relief bill during a lame-duck session – after voters ended their supermajority for the next legislative session – to push broad changes to the state’s elections system. The bill would include shortening the absentee voting and ballot counting processes and transferring authority over the state’s Board of Elections from the governor’s office to the state auditor’s office. Following North Carolina Newsline’s coverage of Republican efforts to jam through this bill, Informing Democracy Managing Director Peter Bondi issued the below statement:

“Following an election wrought with unprecedented challenges, yet navigated successfully by North Carolina’s dedicated and professional elections officials, the state legislature’s attempt to upend local election administration, driven by the extreme partisanship of the Republican majority, is an affront to the commitment to democracy the state saw this fall. North Carolinians deserve better from their elected leaders than a brazen power grab shrouded within the hurricane relief bill.

“Just as concerning, these changes undermine the security and accuracy of elections by arbitrarily setting shorter deadlines and shrinking the window of time for voters to fix ballot errors and ensure their votes will be counted in the next election. If enacted, Senate Bill 382 puts increased pressure on the vote counting timeline, making it more difficult for election workers to execute fair and accurate elections. Changes to election law should be made in consultation with election officials on the ground, not dictated by the blatant partisanship of the state legislature’s Republican majority in an effort to rewrite the rules to benefit themselves.”

Additional Background:

Democracy NC, a local state-based partner of Informing Democracy dedicated to strengthening North Carolina’s elections and empowering disenfranchised communities, released this statement on SB 382.

Earlier this year, Informing Democracy released a report providing a detailed look at the vote counting and certification processes in North Carolina to identify potential vulnerabilities. The report identified procedural rules that bad actors could try to use to cause delays in the vote-counting process, including the rules around the canvassing and certification processes, and those in authority over the administration of elections.