Cooper vetoes plan to tighten deadline for absentee ballots

Currently, North Carolina law allows absentee ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day three additional days to arrive at a county elections office. But Republican lawmakers have repeatedly complained about a legal settlement over the state's voting rules during the coronavirus pandemic that added an extra nine days to that deadline last year.

So, GOP lawmakers crafted Senate Bill 326, dubbed the Election Day Integrity Act, which set the night of Election Day as a firm deadline to accept mailed ballots. Only ballots received from deployed military would be accepted after that.

"The legislature ironically named this bill 'The Election Day Integrity Act' when it actually does the opposite," Cooper said in a statement about his veto. "Election integrity means counting every legal vote, but this bill virtually guarantees that some will go uncounted."

According to the State Board of Elections, more than 11,000 absentee ballots were received within three days of the election in 2020.

Legislative leaders continue to argue that allowing absentee ballots to come in late only delays election results, which undermines public confidence in the results.

"Sadly, this veto will undermine North Carolina voters’ confidence in the outcome of future elections," House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement. "Most states already have the same requirement for ballots to be received in a timely manner. Why shouldn't North Carolinians be given the same confidence in our Election Day process?"

"Election Day should be the election deadline because it boosts confidence in elections to have results as close to the end of voting as possible," bill sponsor Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, said in a statement. "Election Day is the election deadline in plenty of Democrat-run states, yet Gov. Cooper and Democrats keep peddling this bizarre theory that the policy is an attempt at voter suppression."

North Carolina is one of 18 states that accept mail-in ballots during a grace period after Election Day, provided that they were postmarked by Election Day or, in some cases, the day before, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The state's three-day grace period to receive mailed ballots has been in place since 2009. Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger both supported the legislation that created it.

"There is absolutely no evidence that the bill was needed. It would hurt North Carolina voters, especially those in rural communities, who follow the rules but could have their ballot unfairly rejected because of a delay in mail delivery," Bob Phillips, executive director of left-leaning good-government group Common Cause North Carolina, said in a statement.

On Monday, lawmakers gave final approval to a measure that would prohibit elections officials across North Carolina from accepting donations from private groups. Backers said it would remove any suspicion that poll workers might be biased because of who's paying them.

Cooper has another week or so to sign that bill, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.