The Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly passed an “election reform” bill that would end the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots to arrive after Election Day even the Republican leaders of both chambers supported the measure when it first passed, WNCN CBS-17 in Raleigh reports.
After state elections officials extended the grace period to nine days in the 2020 election, Republicans objected to any grace period to account for mail delays. Instead of honoring the previous three-day grace period, the GOP legislators completely eliminated it. In 2020, 13,669 mail-in ballots arrived in the nine-day period after Election Day; 85% came in within three days.
Election Day is “when folks are supposed to vote. Why are we counting ballots after that date?” Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said, echoing Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger, who also downplayed the impact: “Folks have plenty of notice and should have knowledge that if they’re going to vote absentee, they need to make sure that they get their ballots in so that they will be received by the board of elections on time,”