House set to take up statewide election law changes

RALEIGH — A broad election law bill is scheduled for consideration in the North Carolina House on Tuesday, June 30, after clearing committee review last week.

House Bill 958, titled “Election Law Changes,” is a public bill with no counties specifically cited, meaning it would apply statewide if enacted. The bill page lists the latest action as “Placed On Cal For 06/30/2026,” following a committee substitute reported favorably on June 24. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Hugh Blackwell and Rep. Sarah Stevens, with several additional sponsors.

The bill includes changes to several areas of election law, including ballot counting procedures, provisional ballots, voter registration, absentee ballots, campaign finance, political parties, reporting, audits and artificial intelligence. The bill page lists affected statutes in Chapter 163, along with related provisions involving state employees, public officials, voter registration and motor vehicles.

The current fifth edition of the bill would revise the initial counting of official ballots, including provisions for when certain ballots may be counted and when county boards may take preparatory steps before Election Day. The bill text also addresses public observation of vote counting, county board resolutions and procedures for provisional ballots.

Several provisions extend deadlines that currently reference the third business day after an election to the fifth business day after an election. Those changes appear in sections dealing with provisional ballots, voter registration corrections, identification-related ballot issues and absentee ballot cure documentation.

The bill also includes language on public reporting of provisional ballots. Under the proposed language, county boards would publish the number of provisional ballots cast on Election Day, during early voting, by mail-in absentee ballots received as of Election Day, and by military and overseas absentee ballots received as of Election Day.

Because the measure affects election administration statewide, it would be a significant voting-law bill if approved by the House and enacted into law. The bill had not been enacted as of the latest action listed on the General Assembly bill page.

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.