House election bill advances with ballot-counting, campaign finance and audit changes

A wide-ranging North Carolina elections bill advanced Tuesday, moving another election law package into position for further House action.

House Bill 958, titled “Election Law Changes,” was reported favorably as a third committee substitute on June 16 and re-referred to the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee, according to the North Carolina General Assembly bill record. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Grey Mills Blackwell and Sarah Stevens, with additional sponsors listed on the bill page.

The 37-page proposal would make changes across several sections of state election law, including ballot-counting procedures, absentee voting rules, provisional ballots, campaign finance provisions, election administration and the role of the State Auditor’s Office.

Among the changes, the bill would allow county boards of elections to count certain early voting ballots on Election Day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., if the county board adopts a resolution at least two weeks before Election Day. The bill says county boards may not reveal results before polls close. It also preserves public observation of vote counting while stating that witnesses may not interfere with or participate in the count.

The bill would adjust several post-election deadlines from the third business day after an election to the fifth business day, including deadlines tied to provisional ballots, voter registration corrections and photo identification issues.

House Bill 958 also includes language related to elections audits. State Auditor Dave Boliek issued a statement June 16 supporting the concept of an audit by the Office of the State Auditor of election processes and procedures, saying such an audit would bring “transparency and accountability to voters.”

The proposal has not become law. Its next step is consideration in House Rules, which controls whether and when bills move to the House floor.

Because the bill touches multiple election procedures, its practical impact would depend on any further amendments, final passage, potential action by the Senate and whether the governor signs or vetoes the measure.

Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.