Last week, the House Election Law Committee considered House Bill 958, a new bill that would make wide-ranging changes to election laws. If passed, the Republican-sponsored election bill would create new barriers for voters and increase partisan control over North Carolina’s election processes.
According to Common Cause NC, House Bill 958 includes harmful voter restrictions and changes to election laws that would:
- Grant the state auditor, whose office has reportedly threatened to remove county elections members who don’t remove voting options, total discretion to audit all machines, county offices, and personnel involved in any election.
- Make North Carolina the only state to require voters living abroad to submit photo ID copies and past residency documentation, making it tougher for our service members to cast a ballot and stripping some overseas voters of their eligibility to vote in any state elections.
- Allow the state to replace dozens of experienced election staff with political appointees.
- Prohibit County Board of Elections members from publicly encouraging or promoting voter turnout.
- And many other harmful measures.
Certain changes, including restricting overseas citizen voting, seem to be in response to Republican Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin’s failed attempt to overturn his 2024 state Supreme Court loss by throwing out the votes of more than 60,000 North Carolinians and over 5,000 military and overseas voters.
Other changes packed into House Bill 958 are clear examples of state Republicans attempting to enshrine their policy priorities in law and to engage in a power grab. One example includes a measure that would give Sam Hayes, who has close ties to the GOP and is the executive director of the State Board of Elections, increased power to hire and fire staffers on the GOP-controlled board for purely political reasons. Democracy Docket reports that the change would apply to staffers who investigate allegations of election fraud and campaign finance violations.
House Bill 958 is yet another Republican attempt to restrict voting access. The sweeping election bill sponsored by committee chair Sarah Stevens, who on the same day officially left the legislature to focus full-time on her campaign for the state Supreme Court, is a harmful “parting gift” to North Carolina voters.
From creating a costly signature verification program to requiring photo ID for military voters serving our country overseas, this bill adds new obstacles to North Carolinians having their ballots counted.
“Access to the ballot box has significantly been restricted, and boards of elections have become so disgustingly partisan that we’re having to go out and fight at these meetings to preserve polling sites across college campuses and everywhere in North Carolina,” stated North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton during a protest ahead of the House Election Law committee meeting last week.
The latest election sabotage comes as North Carolinians have waited nearly 3 years for Republicans to pass a full state budget. The three-year delay has effectively withheld teacher raises and blocked funding for everything from road repairs to school construction projects.
Instead of putting the interests of the people first, state Republicans are again pushing their political agenda rather than addressing the challenges facing our state.
Want to ensure that our voices are heard and that our elections are fair? Here are ways you can take action now:
- Join Common Cause NC today at 5 pm for a mass rally in Raleigh to protest these politicians’ failed priorities and share ways to take immediate action in our communities to protect the vote. For more information, go to We Will Protect Our Vote.
- Want to tell legislators to oppose the anti-voter House Bill 958? You can submit written comments to the NC House Election Committee by visiting: HB 958 Request For Comments Portal
- North Carolinians can also attend NSCBE meetings to give opinions.
- For Voting Site Rules: An In-Person Public Hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 29, in the Board Room at the State Board of Elections, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.
While the bill still needs to go to the Senate, North Carolinians have until July 14th to submit public comments.
