Republicans in the state Senate are considering legislation to reduce the early voting period. But the change might only apply to primaries.
Most early voting sites open for 17 days ahead of elections, but a Senate bill would eliminate the first week of the early voting period — leaving a total of 10 days when early voting is offered. About half of the Senate Republican caucus has signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation, which was filed last month.
Senate leader Phil Berger has voiced support for the shorter voting period. But he told reporters this week that the final version of the bill likely won't reduce early voting days for general elections.
"I'm not saying that I think 17 days of early voting at the general is what we need," he said. "I'm just speaking in terms of what I think we can get passed, and what would withstand a court challenge at this time. It just seems to me that that's probably the step we ought to take."
Berger pointed to low early voting turnout during primaries.
"It just seems to me to have multiple election sites open in counties, and all those folks that work for the (local board of elections) are sitting there all day, and three people show up, or 10 people, or even 20 people show up ... that's something that is a waste of resources," he said.
Voting advocacy groups like Common Cause North Carolina are lobbying against the bill.
"This outrageous bill would hurt all voters, but especially college students and working North Carolinians who need flexibility in the voting schedule," the group says on its website. "The cuts to early voting would also drastically limit same-day registration, which is an especially helpful tool for first-time voters and voters who have moved since the last election. A reduction to early voting would also severely reduce the time for voters to correct any issues with their registration or their ability to cast their ballot."
Berger said votes on the early voting legislation haven't been scheduled yet. In Berger's recent primary election loss, he got a majority of votes on election day but only 46% of votes cast during early voting. He's blamed his 23-vote loss on Democrats who opted to voted in the GOP primary, but said his concerns about early voting in the primary don't relate to voters using the same-day registration option to change their party affiliation.
