Priorities for 2025-2026 Legislative Session

Priorities for 2025-2026 Legislative Session (Updated):

a. Voter Registration Application Form & Registration Procedures

           *Comply with provisions in the Trump Executive Order 14248 (Section 2)- requiring proof of citizenship

           *Require changes to State Voter Registration Form as attached- requiring BOTH DL# and SSN-4 if issued

           *Require State Auditor to audit the registration procedures at NCDMV offices for compliance with NVRA & HAVA

b. Voter List Maintenance reform

           *Statutorily Permit Citizen Inputs to Local BOEs for investigation and corrective action.

*Have the NCSBE do rulemaking to define the systematic approach for including citizen-reported voter list discrepancies during List Maintenance cycles, for compliance with NVRA

*Require the local County Boards to perform de-duplication checks to remove duplicate registrants twice annually

*Require more aggressive outreach from local Boards to voters who move out of county (according to USPS) but who fail to cancel their registrations

c. Eliminate Same Day Registration (Unequal treatment of registrants and makes fraudulent voting very easy- we are the only Southern state that allows SDR)

d. UOCAVA reform

           *Comply with provisions in the Trump Executive Order 14248 (Section 3(d))- documenting proof of state address and proof of citizenship for all UOCAVA voters

           *Designate all authorized UOCAVA voters by fields on VR list- OM / OC or coded as “temporary” voters (Note- NCSBE stopped identifying all of them this past year)

           *Do not permit electronic voting from a UOCAVA Registrant who has not yet provided proof of citizenship and proof of residence in North Carolina

e. Make Cast Vote Records & Ballot Images publicly accessible

           *Instruct local Boards to make CVRs and Ballot Images available upon public records request 30 days following the election.

           *Instruct local Boards to retain CVRs and Ballot images for 22 months as required by HAVA

*These artifacts are needed for a meaningful statewide audit

           *The majority of states permit public release of CVRs and ballot images

           *Instruct the State Board to perform rulemaking to establish the methods by which voter privacy will be maintained while making the ballot images and cast vote records publicly accessible

f. Comprehensive independent Audit of State Elections every cycle

           *Start with an Independent Statewide Post-election Tabulation Audit as being requested by State Auditor (See Attached for draft statutory suggestions)

g. Voter Identification enforcement

           *Require changes to the Reasonable Impediment Form to show proof of attempt to secure an ID during the election cycle; provisional ballot used but attempt to cure must be documented before canvass for vote to be counted

           *No electronic ID’s permitted and no electronic proof of address permitted as well- both must be documented on paper

*Stop accepting Student ID’s- restrict Voter ID only to federal and state government issued ID’s (Note- issuance of student ID’s is not rigorously monitored and none identify non-citizens) Over 200 student IDs are accepted at present and there’s no way local elections staff can effectively scrutinize every one for possible fraud

h. Other Provisions from U.S. Citizens Elections Bill of Rights

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Priorities for 2025-2026 Legislative Session

a. Voter Registration Application Form & Registration Procedures.

b. Voter List Maintenance reforms.

c. Eliminate Same Day Registration.

d. Require Proof of Citizenship beginning with the 2026 election.

e. UOCAVA reforms.

f. Make Cast Vote Records & Ballot Images publicly accessible.

g. Comprehensive independent Audit of State Elections every cycle.

h. Voter Identification enforcement- eliminate loopholes.

i. Other Provisions from U.S. Citizens Elections Bill of Rights Election bills that have been filed to date.

(1) H66 Reduce Early Voting Period- would limit EV period to 6 days (Monday thru Sat before an election) [Primary Sponsors- Gable, Tyson, Kidwell, Scott] Support

(2) H93 Constitutional Amendment/Repeal Literacy Test [Primary Sponsors- T. Brown, Chesser, Buansi, Lowery] Support

(3) H127 Voter Registration Drive Form [Primary Sponsors- Warren, Blackwell, Echevarria, Loftis] Under Review- Modifications being Proposed

(4) H770 Revival & Sponsorship- NCEIT is requesting the following be added to a draft bill being reviewed:

(a) Designated responsibility for the State Board to develop and publish rules under the APA for receiving and timely processing citizen requests for Cast Vote Records;

(b) Language instructing county boards to make these Cast Vote Records available in a common electronic f ile format within five days following the closing of polls; and

(c) Language instructing the State Board to develop and publish rules under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) for incorporating Cast Vote Records into the process for post-election tabulation audits.

(d) Also requesting access to Corresponding Ballot images as well.

(e) NCEIT analysts are researching statutes from other states to provide instructions that ensure deidentification of CVRs and ballot images prior to public access prevent violation of voter privacy.

Paid for by North Carolina Elections Integrity Project nceit.org