(LibertySons.org) – North Carolina Democrats sued their state’s board of elections, along with several of its officials, after Republicans overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) recent veto affecting voting laws. The changes, which went into effect the same day as the filing, impose stricter deadlines for some voters and add restrictions that may give the GOP an added boost in the upcoming elections. Conservatives say the laws improve election security, while their opposition claims the move is an “all-out attack on democracy itself.”
The Democratic National Committee (DNC), along with the North Carolina Democratic Party, filed their 36-page complaint on Tuesday, October 10. It attacks the state’s Senate Bill 747, which includes pages of provisions affecting voting laws, particularly tackling the eligibility of absentee ballots and same-day registration.
One of the provisions adds a two-factor authentication for absentee votes cast by mail. Another requires additional proof of residency for voters who want to register at the polls, requesting a recent paycheck, utility bill, bank statement, or other official document to verify that a person lives where they say they do. Others add more poll observers, list the punishments for impersonating polling officers, and require the State Bureau of Investigation to become involved in any felonies committed at the polls.
Among the Democrats’ objections include claims that the new laws make registering much more difficult for many voting citizens and open the doors for unexplained rejections of ballots from people who do file same-day paperwork. The Left also expresses concerns over the increases in poll observers, citing the added risk of intimidation, and claims absentee ballots that voters send through the mail on time could be discarded over delays in postal service.
Cooper claims in his defeated veto that the laws strip the rights of younger, senior, disabled, and minority voters, all of whom he says are most likely to make use of early voting and absentee ballots.
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