On Aug. 17, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) vetoed House Bill 958, an omnibus elections bill that would have made a variety of changes to North Carolina's election laws, including shortening the early voting period for primary elections.
The bill would have required early voting for regular, non-municipal primary or runoff elections to take place in the 10-day period between the second Thursday before the election and the Saturday before the election, and set a 10-day limit on early voting for special and municipal elections. Currently, early voting for regular, non-municipal elections is held in the 17-day period beginning on the third Thursday before the election. Under H958, the early voting period for regular general elections would not change.
The bill also would have established a post-election audit of county election systems and controls, increased the reporting threshold for certain campaign contributions, and required election officials to receive more frequent reports on individuals who have died and must be removed from the voter registration list.
