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COVID-19 Spurs Bipartisan Support For Absentee Ballot Bill

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Stacia Brown
Published June 4, 2020 at 1:40 PM EDT
Credit Credit: Union County Government

With rare consensus from Democrats and Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives, House Bill 1169 — which outlines provisions for an anticipated increase in absentee-by-mail voting this fall — passed 116-3 last week.

Host Frank Stasio talks to WUNC political reporter Rusty Jacobs about a new bipartisan effort to prepare for the ways that COVID-19 will impact general election voting.

Fear over public safety at polling sites has led to the quick, decisive action. The State Board of Elections projects that requests for mail-in ballots in North Carolina could jump from around 4% to 40% this year, based on data seen from recent elections in other states like Wisconsin. House Bill 1169 makes its way through Senate committees this week. Host Frank Stasio talks to WUNC political reporter Rusty Jacobs about what the bill’s potential success could mean for the general election in November.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Stacia Brown
Stacia Brown comes to WUNC from Washington, DC, where she was a producer for WAMU’s daily news radio program, 1A. She’s the creator and host of two podcasts, The Rise of Charm City and Hope Chest. Her audio projects have been featured on Scene on Radio, a podcast of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University; BBC 4’s Short Cuts; and American Public Radio’s Terrible, Thanks for Asking.
See stories by Stacia Brown