North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is asking a state commission to delay approval of proposed election rules affecting mail-in ballots and voter ID exceptions less than two weeks before the state is scheduled to send absentee ballots for the November election.
The North Carolina Rules Review Commission on Thursday is scheduled to consider the rules, which were adopted by the Republican-led State Board of Elections in July.
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The elections board has said it’s trying to establish more consistent procedures for county elections officials. Critics say the changes will lead to legitimate ballots being thrown out, and that they could lead to politically targeted decisions meant to influence election results, not to combat fraud.
The review commission needs to determine if they satisfy requirements under state administrative law. The commission, like the Board of Elections, is controlled by Republican political appointees. Stein is a Democrat.
Two of the proposed rules that Stein opposes target voters who don’t present acceptable photo identification but claim an exception allowed under state law.
Under the current rules, county board members must unanimously agree that a voter’s photo ID exception affidavit is false before rejecting it.
The proposed rules would instead allow a majority of the board to make that determination. The State Board of Elections’ Republican majority voted in July to make the change. Republicans hold 3-2 majorities on all 100 county elections boards.
Stein said allowing a partisan majority to reject an exception could undermine confidence that ballots are being treated fairly. And changing the rules so close to an election increases the risk of confusion and mistakes, Stein wrote in a letter Wednesday to the rules review commission.
North Carolina is scheduled to begin mailing absentee ballots Sept. 4.
“The right to vote is the most fundamental right in our democracy, and North Carolina voters should have faith that their ballots are not being discarded for partisan aims,” Stein said in the letter.
The rules have already received enough written objections to trigger legislative review under state law, according to the state elections board. The commission has received at least 10 letters objecting to the rules, meaning they would be subject to review by the General Assembly rather than taking effect immediately, according to Jason Tyson, a spokesman for the state elections board.
In a statement, Tyson called the proposed rules “common-sense measures to protect voters and elections.”
Jake Parker, chair of the North Carolina Rules Review Commission, said the commission received Stein’s letter, which requests legislative review. Under state law, if the commission approves the rules and receives 10 or more similar letters requesting legislative review, it must send the rules to the General Assembly. “In that instance,” Parker said, “the effective date of the rules will be delayed while the General Assembly considers the rules.”
The General Assembly has already adjourned, but the chambers were expected to return in November, after the election. Spokespeople for Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall didn’t immediately provide a response to questions late Wednesday about whether the chambers would take up a legislative review of the rules before the election.
Stein also wants the commission to delay a proposed rule that would establish procedures for county officials to handle problems with absentee ballot envelopes, including when an envelope appears to have been opened and resealed.
Elections officials might have to seek additional information from the voter or take other action before the ballot can be counted. Some deficiencies can be cured, while others can require a ballot to be spoiled and reissued.
The additional procedures could make absentee voting more burdensome and increase the chances of ballots being rejected, Stein says.
The proposed rules also would require officials to put the reasons for rejection in writing and give the voter notice and an opportunity to respond.
Democratic opponents say there's no evidence for the kind of widespread voter fraud that would necessitate stricter or more complicated rules.
Tyson said proposed procedures weren’t particularly onerous. “Nothing about requiring absentee ballots to be properly sealed and secured is confusing or makes it harder to vote,” he said. “It safeguards the ballots and protects the voter’s true voice to ensure it is heard.”
Stein’s request comes as separate litigation continues over federal changes affecting mail voting and the U.S. Postal Service, adding another layer of possible uncertainty surrounding absentee voting this fall.