North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper recently vetoed a GOP-authored elections bill, arguing that it could disenfranchise peopl
By Amy Sherman • August 9, 2023 The bill also instructs the state elections board to choose the signature-verification software and assist with its use. Democrats currently hold a majority on the state board of elections, which is appointed by the governor.
A separate bill under consideration would shift the appointment power to leaders in the legislature — currently controlled by Republicans. The bill calls on the state elections board to track how the signature-verification software is used, how many ballot signatures it flags, and how efficiently it detects fraudulent signatures.Section 48 on page 42 of the bill specifically says:"In implementing the pilot program established in this section, no executed mail-in absentee ballot shall be rejected by the county board of elections for failing any signature verification." Neal Inman, chief of staff for Republican House Speaker Tim Moore, said legislators would have to pass and enact subsequent legislation to establish a permanent, statewide signature-verification system.Asked about Cooper’s claim, spokesperson Jordan Monaghan said the bill’s instructions for the state elections board indicates that Republican lawmakers want to implement a signature-verification system statewide. The bill would require state election officials to report their findings to legislators by May 1. It also instructs them to provide legislators with ideas for developing a statewide program and an estimate of how much a statewide program might cost. "This legislation specifically indicates that Republican legislators intend to implement a signature verification process statewide in time for the 2024 general election. There is no other reason to include provisions directing the State Board of Elections to gather information concerning statewide implementation as this bill does in Section 48, subsections two and three," Monaghan wrote in an email.However, Monaghan agreed with Inman’s claim that additional legislation would be needed to enact a statewide system for the 2024 general election. Randy Brechbiel, a spokesman for Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger, said Cooper’s team either misread the bill or is spinning the facts:"Gov. Cooper should correct his false statement to clear up any confusion his veto caused North Carolinians."Cooper said a GOP-authored elections bill"requires valid votes to be tossed out … if a computer rejects a signature." Republican-backed Senate Bill 747 calls for the implementation of a signature verification system in 10 counties during the 2024 primary. It also sets the stage for exploring a signature-verification system statewide. It’s possible a future statewide signature-verification system could ultimately disqualify some ballots. But this bill specifically says that ballots won’t be thrown out if flagged by signature-verification software during the primary.WRAL,"
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