Controversial NC elections overhaul hits a snag at legislature, amid GOP disagreements

A controversial bill to overhaul North Carolina's election rules ahead of the 2024 presidential race failed to pass the state Senate Wednesday, a surprise result for a Republican-backed bill in the Republican-led legislature.

However, the bill isn't dead. Senate Bill 749 passed the Senate earlier this year and passed the House on Tuesday. But each chamber passed slightly different versions, and on Wednesday the Senate declined to agree with the House version.

So now the two chambers must appoint a smaller team of lawmakers to get together and try working out a compromise.

Senate leader Phil Berger said the main quibble is over when the bill should take effect. The Senate wants it to start in January but the House wants July. Berger said July will be smack in the middle of the 2024 elections, and completely overhauling the state elections board at that time would cause too much chaos, which is why he prefers an earlier implementation.

The bill would overhaul the State Board of Elections, as well as all 100 county boards. It would strip the governor's ability to appoint the board members, who vote on decisions like where to put early voting sites, whether to declare someone ineligible to run for office, or whether to start an investigation into allegations of fraud or other malfeasance. Instead, the bill would give that appointment authority to the legislature — a transfer of power from the Democratic governor to the Republican-led legislature.

Similar ideas have already been struck down by the N.C. Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2017, and shot down by voters at the ballot box, in a failed 2018 referendum. But GOP leaders are pushing for the changes again, noting that their party now controls a majority on the Supreme Court.

The bill would also shift the boards from having an odd number of members — with a 3-2 majority in favor of whichever party controls the governor's office — to instead having an evenly split number of Republicans and Democrats.

Critics say that will lead to ties and deadlock on hugely consequential issues, like whether to certify the winner of the 2024 presidential election here. Supporters say it will increase confidence in elections if voters know neither party has more influence over the rules than the other.