Tell your NC Senator to support safe access to voting for all

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the NC House just passed emergency election legislation which the NC Senate will take up on Wednesday, June 3rd.  House Bill 1169 takes important steps to protect the safety and security of voting for voter and election workers.

The good things the bill does:

  1. Creates new ways to submit an absentee ballot request, including email, fax, and online portal so the whole process can be done with a cell phone.
  2. Reduces the required 2 witnesses for casting an absentee ballot down to 1 witness.
  3. Gives new authority for Multipartisan Assistance Teams to help all kinds of voters request and cast an absentee ballot.
  4. Provides matching state funds for federal grants to expand early voting, buy PPE, rent bigger voting sites, incentive pay for poll workers, process more absentee ballots, etc.
  5. Gives new flexibility to recruit poll workers.
  6. Creates new procedures so election officials can track and process absentee ballots faster and makes it possible for voters to track their ballot.

Some provisions that are missing: 

  1. Providing pre-paid postage on ballot envelopes.
  2. Delaying the deadline for voter registration.
  3. Establishing election day as a holiday.

The bill also includes a devious provision to add a new type of photo ID (from public assistance agencies) in an attempt to undercut state and federal court cases that have successfully stopped the implementation of ID requirement.  Both federal and state court injunctions would have to fail to implement voter ID  which is highly unlikely before the 2020 election.  

Overall this is a good bill and needs your support. Please contact your state senator to support the passage of HB1169

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