By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina House vote on a sweeping elections overhaul bill hit a speed bump at the General Assembly after Republican leaders said lawmakers need more time to review the proposal, a move voting rights advocates say reflects growing public opposition to the bill.
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House Bill 958 would create a new statewide post-election audit process, give county election boards a larger role in reviewing and challenging potentially ineligible ballots after an election, require absentee ballots to arrive by Election Day, and limit how election officials can encourage voter turnout.
According to Republicans, the changes are needed to strengthen election integrity and improve confidence in election results.
“We want voting to work efficiently and with integrity, and that means that everybody entitled to vote should be able to vote,” said state Rep. Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), the bill’s sponsor.
The massive 36-page omnibus bill was pulled from the House Rules Committee agenda this week, delaying what could have been a fast track to the House floor. Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) told reporters on Tuesday he expected a floor vote the following day, although the bill still needs some work.
“It’s a big deal and something we need to caucus more thoroughly so members can understand it,” he said. “But right now, I expect us to vote on it [Wednesday] and then it’ll go to the Senate.
“As I understand it, the chairs are largely ready to pass it out of this chamber and then start their discussions with their Senate counterparts,” Hall continued.
But that Wednesday vote didn’t happen.
The delay comes as a coalition of voting rights groups intensifies its campaign against the legislation, arguing it would inject politics into election administration and make voting more difficult.
“They were ashamed,” said Brian Kennedy, the policy director at Democracy NC. “They were ashamed to pass this bill. That’s why they dropped it in the middle of the night on a Friday, and that’s the same reason why they withdrew it once they saw how many people had eyes on it.
Kat Robles, senior voting rights counsel for Forward Justice said, “It’s confusing for the average reader to understand. That’s what they want. They don’t want you to understand it.
“It’s important now is always to remember that if your vote wasn’t so important, they wouldn’t be working so hard to take it away from you,” she said.
Voting rights advocates gathered outside the General Assembly on Wednesday morning to call on lawmakers to withdraw the bill, arguing it’s trying to solve problems that don’t exist.
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“You throw red tape into an already complicated process and then you selectively audit counties of your choosing where you plant problems and then go try to find them,” said Brooks Fuller, policy director of Common Cause NC. “You find the problems you created and then you make hay over that and cry election integrity. You’re poisoning a system that was working before it was so partisan, and that’s troubling.”
One of the advocates’ biggest concerns is a provision that would give the state auditor broader authority in post-election audits.
“They don’t want you to understand that it would allow the state auditor, who is himself a partisan elected official, to select counties at his discretion to do post-election audits,” Robles said.
According to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek, post-election audits wouldn’t change the outcome of elections.
“Post-election audits focused on the processes and procedures of elections will help improve confidence in our system of voting,” he said. “This is common-sense electoral policy that will deliver additional accountability and transparency to voters across North Carolina.”
Robles also blasted the provision that would prevent election officials from encouraging people to vote.
“This is like saying you own a restaurant, but you can’t go online and say come eat dinner today,” she said. “This is saying a state or county board election member cannot say today is election day. Register to vote. Voting is good. That’s their job. This is a First Amendment violation, plain and simple.”
While Republican leaders have not linked the bill’s delay to public opposition, voting rights advocates say the packed Tuesday committee hearing and growing scrutiny from voters helped slow its progress through the General Assembly.
“It is the power of the people,” Kennedy said. “We have the ability to hold them accountable by watching and staying on top of them, and watching what they are doing.”
The coalition of voting rights advocacy organizations plans to keep up the pressure on lawmakers until they withdraw the bill, with a rally scheduled Monday at 5 p.m. on the Halifax Mall outside the General Assembly.
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