The “Big Lie” Comes to North Carolina
On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in the United States Senate blocked floor debate on a comprehensive bill that would have reformed campaign finance laws, protected access to the ballot, and expanded voting rights for all in America. While efforts to protect free and fair elections in Washington, D.C. continue, democracy for all is under sustained attack in state legislatures across our country.
State legislatures are introducing hundreds of bills to restrict access to voting and dozens of Republican-led state legislatures have already passed new voter restrictions.
In 2020, North Carolina, like states across the United States, conducted elections to choose our leaders from a local level to the Presidency of the United States.
In the immediate aftermath, candidates from both parties applauded record turnout, non-partisan election officials, and the resiliency of the American people for participating in an election during a global pandemic. However, former President Trump quickly began pushing false narratives to sow doubt in the integrity of our election systems and processes.
Since then, Republican-led state legislatures have introduced a wide range of election bills mostly aimed at targeting communities of color and voters who overwhelmingly chose to vote by mail in 2020. Unfortunately, as of last week, North Carolina is among them.
Senate Bills 326, 724, and 725 — are terrible examples of election laws pending in North Carolina and are being pushed in our General Assembly. These bills not only go after the widely popular Mail-in-Ballot system (No-excuse Absentee ballots), but also target funding sources for county boards of elections, and once again are pushing the outdated idea that we need Voter ID laws in North Carolina.
Why? Why take these unnecessary actions to curb voter turnout after one of our state’s most successful elections ever? The answer is simple, Republicans want to make the “big lie” part of their election strategy going forward.
When you get into the details of the circumstances around each bill, none of the legislation improves or secures the way we vote in North Carolina.
Senate Bill 326 for example, would prohibit county boards of elections from collecting any ballots received after 7:30 P.M. on Election Day. This goes directly against long-standing election law in North Carolina, allowing for mail-in ballots to be received for up to three (3) days after Election Day, as long as they were postmarked by 5:00 PM on Election Day. Several other states allow for ballots to be received after Election Day; ranging from just 24 hours later, to 14 days.
North Carolina can continue to be a leader in this space, but it appears that my colleagues from across the aisle have decided to let us fall victim to more restrictive policies.
For Senate Bill 725, the outlook is just as bad. This bill prohibits counties from accepting grant funds from non-profit organizations that help administer free and fair elections. 97 out of the 100 counties in North Carolina received some sort of funds from a non-profit organization in 2020 totaling $4 million dollars. Eliminating this vital source of funding for counties will have impacts on voters from both parties, but it will be felt in communities of color the hardest. When a county lacks necessary funding they are forced to make decisions that limit early vote sites, hours, and election day polling locations. To be clear, polling locations are almost always closed in communities of color first.
I voted “No” on all of these bills because they amount to voter suppression veiled as election integrity.
The false concerns about election integrity continued this week as Republicans released the long-awaited state budget proposal. Tucked into the proposed 427-page budget, Senate Bill 105 are provisions eliminating the ability of the North Carolina State Board of Elections staff to use federal security funds to protect and enhance election security. The budget proposes cuts to voting systems staff, who ensure that voting equipment adheres to state and federal standards, and the agency’s one existing cybersecurity position. These budget cuts and restrictions on federal funds are unacceptable and unthinkable at a time when all available resources are needed to address any election security vulnerabilities and potential for foreign cyberattacks on our election systems across the country.
These bills are designed to look harmless, but they will have a lasting impact on ballot access in our state. Everyone wants our elections to be safe and secure, as they have been. This has been investigated and confirmed, and now it is time to move on and govern for the people of our great state.
If the Republicans want to get serious about addressing “concerns” regarding election integrity in North Carolina, they could provide adequate funding to all local elections boards to conduct safe and secure elections, work with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle to establish Automatic Voter Registration and make Election Day a state holiday to encourage increased voter turnout.
Instead, Republicans continue to allow Trump’s big lie to define their party and their election policy, to the detriment of democracy in North Carolina and America.
