Make Sure Your Vote Will Count

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

You would have to be living under a mushroom (think about it) to be unaware of the pending November 5, 2024 election in this state and country. And it is an understatement to say that there are important changes to voting in North Carolina that you need to be aware of, thanks to our state legislature.

So below is a crash course in voting changes. You might want to cut it out to use now or at some point (the sooner the better) before early voting starts on Thursday, October 17, 2024. And please remind your friends to check their own status as well.

Verify, Verify, Verify Your Voting Status

First, if you are—or think you are!—a currently registered voter, take a minute to review your current voter registration status: Go to the NC State Board of Elections voter registration page (ncsbe.gov/registering/checking-your-registration) and check your information by using the voter search. Verify that the information on the site is correct and current.

If there is any problem with your information, call your county board of elections, Buncombe County (828) 250-4200, or visit the Updating Registration section (www.ncsbe.gov/registering/updating-registration) at the state Board of Elections website.

Voting Preparedness (changes to know about right now)

• No more same-day registration except during early voting. You must be registered no later than 25 days before the election: 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
• One-stop early voting will now begin on second Thursday prior to election date (instead of third Thursday), and registered voters may use any early voting site to cast their ballot. Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 17 and ends Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at 3 p.m.
• On Election Day, voters must vote at the polling place for their correct precinct (based on their residential address as of 30 days prior). Provisional ballots will, however, be allowed for voters not voting at their correctly assigned precinct on Election Day.
• No straight-party voting is allowed on general election ballots; voters may only vote for each partisan contest item separately.
• Write-in ballots must reach the board of elections no later than the day of general election voting to be valid. There is no longer a grace period for mail delivery.
• Provisional ballots will be allowed for voters not voting at his or her correctly assigned precinct.
• Provisional ballots will now be marked as such; if incorrectly placed into the voting equipment at the voting site, such a marked ballot will be retrieved.

Early Voting Period Change

The North Carolina General Assembly decided to shorten the early voting period in the state, and it will begin this year on Thursday, Oct. 17, and end at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 2, 2024.

Early Voting Same-Day Registration

Eligible individuals who reside in a county but are not yet registered to vote there may register during the in-person early voting period. After registering, the newly registered voter can immediately vote at that same site. This process is called “same-day registration.”

When you check in to vote at an early voting site, you may also update your name or address within the same county if necessary.

Significant Absentee Voting Changes

• All requests for a civilian absentee ballot must be made on the State Absentee Ballot Request Form. Hand-written requests will be no longer be accepted.
• Voter or requestor must provide the voter’s date of birth and identification information that can be matched to the voter’s record in the list of registered voters.
• The absentee ballot must be voted in the presence of two witnesses. A voter may vote in the presence of one witness only if that witness is a Notary Public.

Another Ballot Choice Now Possible

The NC Board of Elections has changed a ruling regarding three third parties seeking certification—with the state legislature looking over their shoulder and a US House Judiciary Committee probe being launched. After initially denying the requests of the Constitution Party (candidate Randall Terry), “We The People” (candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), and “Justice for All” (candidate Cornell West), the NCBOE has relented on the Constitution Party and is allowing it onto the ballot this fall. The board deferred action on the other two petitions, so stay tuned.

Farewell, Sweet Redbuds

The Legislature has voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s humane vetoes on three sensitive bills. One featured in this column before (HB 198) will allow the billboard industry to cut away the redbud trees—those beautiful little natives that joyfully announce the spring and generously provide food for pollinators and bird—that have the audacity to grow in the viewshed of their billboard products along our state highways.

Another veto override concerns young criminal offenders—teenagers—requiring those with certain criminal charges to be tried as adults (HB 834). The third is the infamous “masking in public” bill (HB 237), which restricts the public’s use of masks.

Ostensibly the bill was aimed at protestors, but the innocent bystanders are members of the public who wear masks for health protection. Cooper did allow that his action on the “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals Act” was taking place not only on behalf of “people who want to protect their health by wearing a mask,” but also because a tiny additional clause in the legislation “creates a gaping loophole for secret, unlimited campaign money in the middle of an election year.”

The so-called “mask bill” does include strange bedfellows. You might be interested in the introduction:

“An act to modify the physical health and safety of others exemption to certain laws prohibiting wearing masks; to enhance punishment if the defendant was wearing a mask or other clothing or device to conceal or attempt to conceal the defendant’s identity; to prohibit gubernatorial executive order, secretarial declarations, municipal or local government prohibitions and restrictions, or other rules or regulations by a political subdivision of this state from imposing additional limitations on religious institutions that are not applicable to businesses, nonprofit organizations, or other private entities affected by the same or similar emergency; to increase the penalty for impeding a road during a demonstration or obstructing an emergency vehicle from accessing a road at any time; to create civil liability for a demonstration organizer of a demonstration that obstructs an emergency vehicle; and to amend campaign finance laws regarding federal political committees and political organizations (emphasis inserted).”

Check out that last part in bold again. It is this that piqued Cooper’s concern. He espouses that this bundle of words will allow “anonymous out-of-state billionaires to flood North Carolina with campaign contributions.” And the concept was added to the final version of the bill after four editions went through without it.

So it seems that in the uproar over masking, a 13-word addition to the “mask bill” really was a mask. (And we thought they were banning them!) It means that a whole new avenue of campaign funding was opened up to receive outside funds in North Carolina elections.

The best explanation of this ramification that I’ve found is a comprehensive article in The Carolinean, reported by Jordan Meadows. You should absolutely check it out: “The Controversy Surrounding Vetoed NC House Bill 237.” I think you’ll see why Cooper was upset. We all should be.

Here is your tease: “(T)he bill introduces a new avenue for significant contributors to inject funds into North Carolina elections.”

And just who was that masked man who inserted this clause? Well, this significant change came masked by a conference committee. It received the support of all 28 Republicans present, while 12 Democrats were listed as “Not Voting” and another eight were listed as “Excused Absences.”

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.