By Jeff Moore
Carolina Journal News Service
RALEIGH — Three bills comprising the thrust of legislative election integrity efforts advanced through the N.C. Senate Committee on Redistricting and Elections on Wednesday, June 9. Senate Bills 326, 725, and 724 were each approved by voice vote and referred out of committee.
The first bill presented, Senate Bill 724, is an act to expand absentee voting access through portals for the visually impaired, allow online voter registration submissions via the State Board of Elections, and establish a program to distribute free ID cards to people unable or uninterested in leaving their home to get one.
Presenting the bill, Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, said the legislation is aimed at increasing access to participate in safe and secure elections.
Senate Bill 725, presented by Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Madison, prohibits the private funding of elections administration in light of left-leaning organizations funded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg donating millions to select North Carolina counties election entities.
Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, spoke during the public comment period, pointing to data showing the strategic deployment of outside private funding of local election apparatuses had a partisan effect on North Carolina races.
“S.B. 725 would remove private “Zuck bucks” from funding election administration. We found that money Mark Zuckerberg funneled through the Center for Tech and Civic Live disproportionately went to counties that supported Democrats. Election administration is one area I think most people agree should not be privatized,” Jackson told CJ in an interview.
The bill was approved and referred to the Rules committee.
Drawing the most fire in terms of partisan politics was the advancement of Senate Bill 326, The Election Integrity Act, which makes close of business on election day the deadline for accepting absentee ballots.
Bill sponsor and committee chair Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Avery, argued that the protracted period of acceptance, which he described as brought about by a ‘collusive settlement’ of a partisan lawsuit under the pretense of pandemic caution, needlessly fuel suspicion while trust and confidence in elections are at historic lows.
Democrat committee members reiterated objections to the election day deadline, arguing such a hard cut off date will disenfranchise voters because of delays in mail delivery. The sentiments were echoed by left-leaning Common Cause N.C. executive director Bob Phillips. In a statement, Phillips said that the legislation “would merely hurt North Carolina voters, especially those in rural communities,” who may have votes invalidated due to delays by the post office.
In response to the mail delivery concerns, Daniels said there are multiple ways to submit absentee ballots, and weeks of lead time from the issuance of absentee ballots and the election day deadline.
Jackson noted in public comment that nearly a thousand absentee ballots were rejected for missing the deadline, even under the extraordinary expansion to a nine-day window of acceptance during 2020 elections. Interestingly, he also drew attention to the practical elimination of the arduous task of depending on notoriously confusing post marks.
“S.B. 326 moves North Carolina back to the standard we had until a decade ago; that all voters are responsible for getting their ballots submitted to election officials by election day,” says Jackson. “It will end county boards of elections dependence on postmarks, which are often absent or illegible, and eliminate confusion we often have about whether an absentee ballot has been legally voted.”
The three bills advance for additional committee consideration before returning to the floor for votes.
What nonsense!!!
SB724: What is this, East Germany in the 70s? Now the government is going require an ID card to do things that are guaranteed in the Constitution?
SB725: And speaking of the Constitution, why is the GOP eroding my 1st Amendment rights? Why can’t people fund what they want. Most things *SHOULD* be privatized!!!!
SB326: Seems fine with me, as long as the NC Leg also mandates that the USPS deliveries ballots on time.
Where’s the legislation to prevent ACTUAL problems, such as the ballot tampering in NC-9 from 2018?
There was no fraud #BigLie. In fact the last large election fraud in North Carolina was instigated by the Republican party candidate ballot harvesting. Again the hypocrites are perpetuating the big lie. My constitutional right to vote does not acquire me to have an identification it requires me to be a citizen of the United States and that is what I am.
#LieandDeny
#TermLimits
SB724: If we need an ID to buy a gun (2A right) why not to vote? I voted for Voter ID with the other 62% of NC. If we cared about real democracy, it’d already be law.
SB725: If you want woke corporations controlling political puppets…otherwise this is a good bill. We need to get the money out of politics.
Election fraud is a real problem that these are tackling.
Brett, if you state that voter fraud is a real problem, then come up with the proof to show wide spread voter fraud and I will be behind a law that takes away my constitutional right. Until there’s proof there’s no fraud, except for the fraud perpetuated by the lies of the Republican party.
John, there is ample evidence/proof of election fraud, including right here in North Carolina. It would be best of if you looked for it yourself but you wont/cant because you’re not allowed, LOL. Like any good puppet liberal you require your masters on the national “news” networks to tell you what to say and what to think. Good puppet. Good puppet…….
Also no one is taking away your constitutional right, stop begin dramatic, omg. You conceptual biology majors are all the same, just a gaggle of actors/pretenders. Besides people like you weren’t saying “Until there’s proof of collusion, there is no collusion.” we all know how that turned out, just another big left wing nothing-burger by an insidious gaggle of over dramatic actors (you can interchange “traitor” with “actor” if you like).
Also, Mark, your comparison of SB724 is easily the most uneducated thing I’ve read today. It’s likely to be offensive to some in the Jewish community too. You have to be an American citizen to vote in our elections. Proof of citizenship should be a national requirement to participate. The only people who disagree are the folks who want to see the greatest nation the world has ever known fail.
“oh no, I might have to have an ID to vote” then why have an ID to do anything? Heck, why even need an ID to buy liquor or guns? Boo hoo!
Why even have a drivers license, if we’re going to just take people’s word for bond we don’t need any identification of any kind.
We’ll just use the liberal honor system, ” I identify as whoever I say I am and at whatever age I am.”
You “an ID to vote takes me constitutional rights away” are overplaying your hand. Heck, why even have birth certificates or marriage certificates.
What’s next with you people, credit card companies and banks shouldn’t include names on credit/cards? Sheesh. 🙄
Again Abernathy where’s the proof???? I’m not talking about .01%, I’m talking about the wide spread voter fraud perpetuated by the big lie. Again there is no proof of wide spread voter fraud but there is proof of the #BIGLIE
If you lie about something long enough people start to believe it, that’s why Trump started perpetuating this lie soon after he was elected.