Contact Your Lawmakers and Urge Them to Stand Up for Voters’ Rights
North Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation which threatens voters’ rights in our state. The sponsors of House Bill (HB) 958 present this bill as a benevolent effort to protect the legitimacy of voting by addressing voter fraud. However, in reality, this bill unnecessarily increases voter scrutiny while decreasing transparency to the public around the election process. Read more below and contact your legislators today!
Read More About House Bill 958
Power-hungry politicians suggest this bill addresses voter fraud – but intentional voter fraud is extremely rare in our state. Additionally, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) already has preventative systems in place. In reality, this legislation would make voting more difficult for North Carolinians and enables further evasion of accountability to the public. Here are some of the concerning measures in HB 958:
- Grants significant power to the state auditor (a partisan position!) including power to select counties to audit at his own discretion
- Allows the replacement of North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) civil servants with political appointees
- Allows the NCSBE to hire private council instead of utilizing lawyers appointed to serve the public
- Considers a costly signature verification program
- Requires a photo ID for active duty military serving overseas
- Extends the amount of time for challenging votes from election day to five days after election day which opens the door to candidates strategically challenging votes to try to change the outcome of elections
- Preemptively eliminates rank choice voting in our state – a system which has proven successful in other states and is considered by many to be a more equitable voting structure
Taken together, these provisions are contradictory to the NCSBE’s commitment to fair elections and a degradation of the democratic process.
Why Does NCLCV Care?
At NCLCV, we believe we need a fair, healthy democracy in order to enjoy a clean, healthy environment. We believe when voters are truly heard, they protect their environment and their communities. That’s why we work so hard: to give power back to the people!
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