NC Senate Passes Pair of Election Integrity Bills

Legislation will modernize administration of NC elections, remove partisan advantage on State Board of Elections

Republicans uphold commitment to restore voter confidence with commonsense election law reform

Raleigh, N.C. — Today, the North Carolina Senate approved Senate Bills 747 and 749, “Election Law Changes” and “No Partisan Advantage in Elections,” respectively. Together the bills make timely upgrades to the administration and governance of elections in North Carolina, helping strengthen election laws and increase the confidence voters have in our elections.

“Elections are invaluable to our state and country, and it’s troubling that when given the chance to end the political imbalance on our elections board, Senate Democrats refused to do so. These two bills take bold steps to make certain that North Carolina’s elections are free from political interference and devoid of any mischief,” Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee Chairman Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) said.

Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee Chairman Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Burke) said, “Keeping partisanship from swaying the management of our elections is something both parties should get behind, but today’s vote shows that Democrats don’t care about election integrity. With the approval of Senate Bills 747 and 749, Senate Republicans are removing political gamesmanship from election administration and putting integrity above all.”

Senate Bill 747 is comprehensive election integrity legislation. It establishes Election Day as the deadline for accepting absentee ballots, prohibits boards of elections from accepting third party donations, and addresses the loophole of having new voters cast a ballot before their address is verified. The bill also launches a pilot program for select counties to use signature verification software for absentee ballots, and implements a process for rooting out any non-citizens from our voter rolls.

Senate Bill 749 reconfigures the State Board of Elections to better represent the people of North Carolina. Instead of having the governor appoint the majority of members on the board, the bill gives leaders of the majority and minority parties in the General Assembly an even number of appointments. Unaffiliated voters will be able to serve on the board, which is a change from current law. At the county level, the four General Assembly leaders will each have one appointment to the local boards.

The bills will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.