The North Carolina Senate has approved a revised version of HB 958, Election Law Changes. While the Senate removed several provisions that generated widespread concern, the bill still contains significant changes that the League of Women Voters of North Carolina believes could negatively affect voter access and election administration.

Because the Senate amended the bill, HB 958 has been sent back to the House of Representatives. House members must now decide whether to concur with the Senate changes or send the bill to a conference committee for further negotiation.

What Changed?

The Senate removed several provisions from the House-passed bill, including:

• The requirement that certain voter registration applicants provide a full nine-digit Social Security number.
• New photo ID requirements for many military and overseas voters.
• Restrictions affecting certain overseas citizens who are eligible to vote under federal and state law.
• A statewide post-election database matching process that could have triggered additional voter reviews.
• Mandatory county board voter challenges based on those database matches.

These changes represent meaningful improvements.

Why LWVNC Still Opposes HB 958

Several provisions remain that raise serious concerns about voter access and election administration, including:

• Reducing the early voting period for primary elections from 17 days to 10 days.
• Expanding citizenship verification requirements by requiring voter registration records to be checked against a federal database that has been criticized as incomplete and unreliable.
• Creating expanded post-election audit authority requiring county boards of elections to be audited at least once every six years. While these audits cannot change election results, the League remains concerned that politicized audits could undermine public confidence in election administration.

Positive Progress

Two provisions supported by LWVNC—extending the time available to cure and process eligible ballots—were removed from HB 958 and incorporated into HB 834, which passed unanimously and is also awaiting final House action.

Take Action

Contact Your House Member

HB 958 is now back before the House. Ask your Representative to reject the Senate version of HB 958 and continue working toward election laws that expand voter access, protect election integrity, and support the professional administration of elections.

Locate your Representative here:
https://www.ncleg.gov/findyourlegislators

Thank Senators Who Offered Pro-Voter Amendments

Please thank the Senators who offered amendments to improve the bill and consistently advocated for North Carolina voters.

Senator Mujtaba Mohammed
(919) 733-5955
Mujtaba.Mohammed [at] ncleg.gov

Senator Natalie Murdock
(919) 733-4599
Natalie.Murdock [at] ncleg.gov

Senator Lisa Grafstein
(919) 733-9349
Lisa.Grafstein [at] ncleg.gov

What's Next? 

If the House concurs with the Senate version, HB 958 will be sent to Governor Josh Stein. At that point, LWVNC will encourage supporters to ask the Governor to veto the bill.

If the House does not concur, legislative leaders may appoint a conference committee to negotiate a final version before the bill can move forward.

North Carolina's elections are strongest when every eligible voter can participate, election officials have the tools they need to administer elections fairly, and voters have confidence in the integrity of the electoral process. LWVNC will continue to advocate for policies that protect all three.