NC elections board moves to make it easier to toss voters’ ballots

The state Board of Elections on Thursday voted along party lines to endorse a rule that will make it easier for voters’ ballots to be thrown out if they don’t show a photo ID.

As it is now, all five county board members have to agree to throw out a provisional ballot because they think the voter is lying about the reason they do not have photo ID. Under the new rules, bipartisan agreement would no longer be required. Only a majority vote would be needed to throw out a ballot based on belief that the voter lied about the lack of photo ID.

The state board’s three Republicans supported the change, while its two Democrats were opposed.

The proposed rule “feeds into the lie that there’s a ton of voter fraud,” said Democrat Jeff Carmon.

Republican Stacy “Four” Eggers IV said the requirement for a unanimous vote does not comply with state law. “That was something that was invented out of whole cloth by this board,” he said.

The board received 161 pages of emailed comments about the rule, and 1,506 comments through an online portal, a board lawyer said. Most were opposed to dropping the unanimous vote requirement.

In a statement, state Elections Director Sam Hayes said he didn’t expect more ballots to be rejected under the changed rule.

‘What instills faith in elections is adherence to the letter and spirit of the law,” Hayes said in the statement. “As counsel for Speakers (Tim) Moore and (Destin) Hall, I defended North Carolina’s voter ID law in both state and federal court. The requirement of unanimity to reject a reasonable impediment declaration appears nowhere in the statute.  That was the result of a prior board taking license and going beyond the mandate of the General Assembly.

“Today, the current State Board of Elections took action necessary to make our rule conform with the law, and I support that decision.  The only basis for rejecting a reasonable impediment is if the county board has grounds to believe the affidavit is false, and nothing has changed in that regard.  It is a high bar to meet, and I do not expect that this rule change will result in more ballots being rejected,” Hayes said.

The proposed rule now goes to the Rules Review Commission for approval. If the commission approves, the rule would be in effect for the midterm elections.

Proposed ban on amplified music outside NC polling places draws criticism

The board also voted on party lines to approve a new rule that would ban amplified sound outside polling places and other noises that can be heard inside.

At a public comment session last month, opponents said the rule would cramp efforts to mobilize Black, brown and young voters. These efforts aim to make voting a celebration and often include music.

“We are feeding into a non-existing problem,” Carmon said. “With this rule, we are discouraging people from being excited about voting.”

Eggers said the rules give chief judges the means to maintain order within a precinct.