RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers sent two sweeping elections bills to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk on Tuesday, one of which would cut the early voting period for some elections, require the Republican state auditor to conduct post-election audits and create new avenues to challenge ballots.

House Republicans passed that bill, 62-46, with opposition from most Democrats.

Among the Democrats who opposed House Bill 958 was Rep. Amber Baker of Forsyth County, who objected to Senate Republicans’ changes to the legislation ahead of the final version negotiated between top Republicans.

She urged others to vote ‘no,’ “if for no other reason than to send the message to the Senate that the House is its own chamber,” Baker said.

During debate, House Speaker Destin Hall asked General Assembly police to remove a handful of spectators from the gallery after someone shouted just before the vote. Protesters chanted “the people united will never be defeated,” as they were escorted out.

Wake County Democratic Rep. Abe Jones, who voted against the bill, said that voters wouldn’t have enough “time to digest” the bill.

The other elections bill, HB 834, which extended deadlines for counting some ballots, passed 74-35.

One of the “no” votes on HB 834 was from Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, who thanked Republicans for some changes to the bill ahead of the final version, but still opposed some provisions. Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham voted for it, as did former Democrat turned unaffiliated Rep. Carla Cunningham.

Cunningham and Willingham voted against HB 958.

Both bills passed the Senate last week, with HB 834 achieving a unanimous vote, while the more controversial HB 958 passed along party lines.

What do the bills do?

HB 958 initially began as an omnibus bill which included all of Republicans’ election priorities for the year. Last week, however, the Senate diverted many of the less controversial provisions into HB 834 and left the more contentious changes in the original bill.

Among those changes is a provision to reduce the state’s early voting period from 17 days to 10 days in primary and special elections. The early voting period for general elections, including the upcoming November midterms, would not change.

The bill would also require State Auditor Dave Boliek to conduct post-election audits in randomly selected counties, the latest in a long line of powers lawmakers have granted Boliek since his 2024 victory, in which he became the first Republican to win the office in over a decade. The results of these audits could not be used to overturn election results.

Voters would also have more opportunities to challenge ballots they believe to have been cast by ineligible voters, if the bill becomes law. Ballots cast during the early voting period could be challenged up until the third business day after the election — but ballots cast on Election Day could only be challenged on the day itself.

Other provisions in HB 958 include requiring candidates to have been registered with a political party for a full year to run in that party’s primary and requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles to provide voters’ Social Security numbers to the State Board of Elections.

As for HB 834, it mainly includes administrative changes that are supported by both parties, including softening deadlines to count some ballots or fix issues with absentee or provisional ballots.

Another section of the bill clarifies that an early or absentee vote must be thrown out if the voter dies before Election Day.

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