The League of Women Voters of North Carolina has defended access to the ballot box since our creation in 1920. Now more than ever, we need to protect that sacred right. More voters than ever before participated in the 2020 election, in many ways because of expansions that made voting more accessible, including vote by mail. We want to see these permanent fixes to our voting system so that we are building upon the success of 2020 for future elections.

 

On the surface, SB326 would not provide more integrity to our election process. While it appears to make small changes to our voting laws, it would have a significantly negative impact on access to the ballot. Many ballots which had arrived in a timely manner in 2020 would suddenly be thrown away. Thousands of votes would not be counted and the voices of these voters would not be heard.

North Carolina voters have relied on current absentee ballot application and return policies for many, many years. They make voting plans understanding their options for voting in person or by mail. There is no provision in this bill for notifying voters of when an absentee ballot can be applied for or when it can be delivered to the Board of Elections. These changes would most significantly affect voters from small, rural counties with limited transportation options and those who most recently voted absentee by mail. Notifying voters of a new law could easily cost several million dollars.

 

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina asks that you reject these proposed changes to our election laws.