Bill tightening the deadline for mail-in absentee ballots advances in NC legislature
A bill aiming to tighten the deadline by which mail-in absentee ballots can be received advanced in a legislative committee on Tuesday.
The bill, HB 304, titled the Election Day Integrity Act, would require all mail-in ballots to be received by the county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on the day of the election. Current law states that absentee ballots may be received three days after the election so long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
Rep. Ted Davis, a New Hanover Republican and one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said the change would made the election process “more concise, more trustworthy, more transparent and more straightforward.”
Republicans passed a similar bill in 2021 after former President Donald Trump repeatedly made the false claim that he won the 2020 election. The bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The bill would also prohibit the use of ballot drop boxes, which became popular in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic but were widely derided by Republicans as sources of potential fraud. Federal and state investigations have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election.
Another provision in the legislation would require county elections boards to report certain election data, including the number of spoiled absentee ballots, the total number of absentee ballots and the number of voted provisional ballots.
The House Committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform passed the bill along party lines after intense debate, with Democrats filing multiple failed amendments attempting to gut the legislation.
Rep. Joe John, a Wake County Democrat, said the State Board of Elections reported that over 10,000 absentee ballots came in during the three-day grace period in 2020.
“My primary concern with the elimination of three-day grace period is the elimination has as its foundation an absolute confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the most inefficient, ineffective and unreliable agency of the federal government — the U.S. Postal Service,” John said.
Rep. Cynthia Ball, a Wake Democrat, submitted an amendment appropriating funds to inform voters about the elimination of the grace period.
“We need consistent statewide education of our voters to make them aware of this significant change,” she said.
The amendment failed after Republicans argued that the responsibility of informing voters of the change should fall to county elections boards.
Debate on the bill ran so long that the committee did not allow comment from the public, despite having over 12 people sign up to speak.
HB 304 now heads to the House Rules Committee — the last stop before a floor vote.
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 12:17 PM.
