AMAC Exclusive – By Neil Banerji
With next year’s general election now squarely in focus and former President Donald Trump maintaining a small but steady lead over Joe Biden in hypothetical 2024 matchup polls, election integrity is once again becoming a major issue. As debates over policies like Voter ID and ballot harvesting become more prominent in the months ahead, recent actions by Republicans in the North Carolina state legislature could become a blueprint for other states to follow.
In August, the legislature passed SB 747 and SB 749, both of which deal with election integrity.
SB 747 mandates that election records be retained 22 months after an election takes place and requires mail-in ballots to be received by the time polls close on Election Day.
In 2020, some states accepted mail-in ballots after Election Day, leading to controversy over whether or not those votes should be counted. This bill aims to clear up that confusion and more effectively guard against fraud.
Notably, AMAC Action helped ensure that the provision on mail-in ballots and several other important election integrity measures remained in the bill after some Republicans in Raleigh mounted an effort to remove them.
SB 749 further restores integrity to North Carolina’s electoral process by removing the governor’s ability to pack the state’s electoral board with members of his own party. The bill stipulates that an equal number of Democrats and Republicans must serve on the institution, and also reallocates the governor’s formerly unconstrained power over the state election board to the state legislature.
Unsurprisingly, Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is term-limited, vetoed both bills. In his veto message, Cooper alleged that the bills are “a threat to democracy” and a “legislative takeover of state and local elections boards” that will “doom our state’s elections to gridlock and severely limit early voting.”
But as Republicans in the legislature were quick to point out, it is actually the governor’s unchecked control over the state’s election process that is creating distrust in the electoral system and unfair one-sided control. Despite the fact that Republicans currently hold a 30-20 edge in the Senate and a 72-48 edge in the House, the Democrat Cooper has sole discretion over who controls every elections board in the state.
“Single-party control has led to distrust and skepticism among voters,” Republican state Senator Warren Daniel, a primary sponsor of the bills, said following Cooper’s veto. “Voters should be asking themselves why Gov. Cooper is so desperate to maintain his partisan grip on the State Board of Elections.”
Republicans in the legislature quickly rallied to override Cooper’s veto on October 10, passing the bills into law.
National Democrats unsurprisingly were quick to express their outrage, recognizing that their suspect voting practices in one of the most important swing states are now explicitly illegal. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison called the bills a “brazen attempt to undermine the will of the people and the leadership of Governor Cooper to strip voters of their hard-won voting rights.”
The DNC and the North Carolina Democrat Party also filed a joint lawsuit challenging SB 747, and in particularly its provisions to ensure greater integrity in early and mail-in voting procedures. Democrats are hopeful that a preliminary injunction can keep the bill from taking effect before next year’s election.
The forthcoming court battle could have major implications for the rest of the country as well. Even as Republican candidates look to expand their early and mail-in voting operations, GOP officeholders – and many voters – remain wary of policies like universal mail-in ballots and weeks of early voting due to irregularities during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
If the North Carolina law remains in place, it would likely clear the way for other Republican-led states to pass similar measures. If a judge strikes down the law, however, it could invite a flood of lawsuits in other states targeted at their election integrity laws.
One way or another, it seems, the courts will play a pivotal role in deciding the future of election integrity in the United States – much as they did in 2020. Americans can only hope that whatever judge hears the case chooses to put the law and the Constitution over partisan ideology.
Neil Banerji is a proud Las Vegas resident and former student at the University of Oxford. In his spare time, he enjoys reading Winston Churchill and Edmund Burke.
DEMORATS DO NOT WANT VOTING INTEGRITY LOOK AT THE 12 MILLION MAGICAL VOTES BEJING BIDEN GOT OVERNIGHT AFTER THE POLLS CLOSED
Why would anyone not want voting integrity? Consider the source.
I don’t understand the problem with having ballots in by midnight on election day. Our ballots have always had to be received by then or it would not count. The exception I think is if it comes from someone stationed overseas. If someone can’t get it in the mail in time or drop it off at a drop box then I guess they are not that serious about voting.
That is what democrats do send the case to court where Soros bought judges rule in their favor. We have to oust every judge, DA, lawyer bought by Soros will we be heard. The ultra left rules at the moment. Their influence is everywhere. We are fighting an uphill battle. Only never give up, if we do humanity will suffer under the thumb of these so called ultra liberals.
“Integrity” is a dog whistle for racism! But isn’t everything in the Democrat Big Lie?
Election Integrity…!!!! A must-have…!!!! ACCURATE Elections are true. A basement-dwelling buffoon never won that election.
That will never happen here in WA state where everything is controlled by democrats. We haven’t had a Republican governor in 40 years. The liberal legislature outvotes us on the East side of the state.
As a senior voter looking at one legal citizen having one vote, which is the only way that we will ever take back the reins of this country, we must battle the illegal votes, consisting of people who do not exist, people who are not citizens, repeat voters Bust Around the state in order to vote more than once, the dead voters and the voters who are bought by the likes of Soros in order to multiply the illegal vote. It is a multi-layered battle that must be fought in every level of true democracy.
The reason Democrats don’t want Election Integrity, is they can’t win a free and fair election, they have nothing to offer in the marketplace of ideas, the only thing the Democrats have going for them is placing Fair, Racism, and Hate Mongering.
Given the opportunity, I would challenge a Democrat in an election, and we would both agree to play by the same ground rules.
First. We cannot use personal dislikes against each other.
Second, We only talk about the issues, why your ideas are right, not why the other persons ideas are wrong.
Third, We must discuss make sure our ideas fit within the framework of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Fourth, We cannot take money from anyone outside of the jurisdiction in which we are running, and no cooperate money.
Fifth, We only have 6 months to campaign and only have one month to vote and the only absentee votes are from people who can show a need to vote absentee, ie: Military, Nursing Home or need to be out of state or country. all other votes will be cast on election day.
Sixth; Proof of eligibility to vote, consisting of Age, Residence.
I believe that I can win any election against anyone if we play by the same ground rules!
God Bless America, Save our Freedom!
There is no doubt that election commission packing is a key to creative legislative district formation. Here in NJ (where Democrats have maintained control of both houses of the legislature for decades) we have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans on the commission and, of course, they never agree on how to draw the districts. Then a Democrat is picked to make the final decision, which naturally results in creative legislative district formation. For the party in control, there is always a way to maintain control of election district formation.
A typical corrupt Marxist Democrat, all about power, not the American Taxpayer!
The worst part of lousy judges getting involved is those on the left are so extremely partisan on every single issue. Sure, there are partisan judges on the right, but it is about 99 to 1ty2 other way. I for one am sick of the courts being involved in clearly legal statutes.
What has changed since we used to have one voting day and absentee ballots were approved to those who would be out of their voting districts due to travel or who were unable to get to the polls due to illness or lack of transportation??? Also, why aren’t voter IDs required as a way to ensure one vote per United States CITIZEN? Let’s keep it simple, folks! Those policies are not discriminating as every CITIZEN has the right to one vote. I can understand the polls being open for a longer period on voting day since so many working people may have transportation situations that make their workday much longer. If there are too many residents assigned to a particular polling location to allow them to vote within that time period, perhaps more voting locations need to be established.
With Such A large Republican majority in the legislature how did the State of N C elect a Democrat as Governor?! Smells Fishy to me!
Anyone that actually believes this country will see an honest national election in 2024 probably also believes in Unicorns and that the earth is flat.
The collective “we”, are doomed.
I live in North Carolina and celebrated the past election that gave our Republicans the power to override Cooper’s vetos. Praying now that his and his buddies’ lawsuit fails.