Flanked by Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates, Gov. Josh Stein on Monday vetoed a 17-page election bill that shortens the early voting period in primaries and allows voters to be challenged after election day.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed House Bill 958 earlier this month.
The legislation seeks to enact a litany of elections law changes, including shortening the early voting period in primaries and special elections from 17 days to 10 days; tasking the state auditor with auditing elections administration in each of the state's 100 counties once every six years; and lets anyone challenge a ballot cast early until the third day after the election. Anyone can challenge absentee ballots or military ballots until the fifth business day after the election ends, in most cases.
"This is part of a yearslong effort by Republicans in the General Assembly of partisan attacks on our elections and on your vote," Stein said during a press event Monday.
He pointed to gerrymandering of legislative and Congressional maps and the General Assembly's late 2024 shifting of the hiring of state elections officials and appointment of county elections board from the governor's purview to the state auditor's. Stein, the then-incoming governor, is a Democrat, while then-incoming State Auditor Dave Boliek is a Republican.
"Post-election audits are a commonsense, objective way to boost public confidence in our elections," said Boliek, in a statement released after the veto. "These examinations of election systems and controls are an additional layer of accountability that should be welcomed."
House Republicans vowed to override Stein's veto. Republicans hold a supermajority in the Senate and are one vote shy of one in the House, but have typically this session been able to find either a Democrat or Unaffiliated member who is willing to help them override Stein's vetoes.
Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, wrote in a statement that the bill includes "practical election reforms" that help give voters confidence in the state's elections.
"Gov. Stein's veto of this legislation puts politics ahead of common sense and the peace of mind voters should have when they cast their ballots," Blackwell wrote.
Stein pledged to veto House Bill 958 shortly after the General Assembly passed it earlier this month, writing on social media that it makes it harder to vote and "encourages sore losers" to seek to overturn election results.
"We can hold this veto, but we need everyone to show up and stand up," Stein said.
Notably, Rep. Carla Cunningham, U-Mecklenburg, voted against the legislation. Rep. Nasif Majeed, U-Mecklenburg, who also left the Democratic party after losing his primary in March, was not present for the vote.
Sen. Sydney Batch, D-Wake, and Robert Reives, D-Chatham, also spoke at Monday's Governor's Mansion event.
Republicans have, Batch said, made significant overhauls to the state's elections in each of the last four years. Those include voter ID requirements in 2023, the shift in elections oversight in what was originally described as a Helene recovery bill in 2024, changes to Congressional maps to give Republicans a leg up in 11 of the state's 14 districts in 2025 and then House Bill 958 this year.
Batch also described how she believes cutting early voting days in primaries could be decisive in who wins elections.
"After all, in a gerrymandered state like ours where nearly every district is decided in a primary and sometimes by just a few votes, they cut early voting by a week," Batch said.
Like Batch, Reives framed the bill as being less about restoring confidence in elections and more about giving Republicans potential advantages in elections.
"All they want to do is make sure that you have less power as voters and that they have more power for themselves," Reives said during Monday's event.
Reives noted that House Bill 958 passed along party lines.
Second veto of the day
Earlier Monday, Stein also vetoed House Bill 377, which gives N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby the power to suspend any trial court judge being investigated by the state's Judicial Standards Commission without pay while that probe is ongoing.
The bill would also allow the N.C. Supreme Court to modify disciplinary recommendations from the Judicial Standards Commission. Under current law, it only has the ability to accept, reject or remand those recommendations for further proceedings.
"Just as the respective leadership in each legislative chamber does not have the power to suspend duly elected legislators, and just as the Governor does not have the power to suspend an elected member of the Council of State, the Chief Justice should not have the power to suspend a trial judge elected by the people," Stein wrote in his veto message.
Stein also called the ongoing role the Judicial Standards Commission has in discipline a "cold comfort," noting that the Chief Justice appoints six of its 14 members, while the General Assembly appoints six more. As governor, Stein appoints two members of the Commission.
Speaker of the House Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, pledged on social media that the House will override Stein's veto of House Bill 377.
He wrote, "And of course, (Stein) just vetoed the bill that puts a check on reckless judges. It’s very clear that his administration doesn’t care about public safety."
Any potential override votes aren't likely to happen for several months. The legislature adjourned in early August, with leaders saying they do not not plan to return to take up substantive business until after November's elections.
