Local election officials reported numerous challenges to in-person voting, including worker shortages, no-show workers, polling places shut down after workers test positive. training cancellations and last minute facility cancellations. While imperfect, voting by mail appears to have worked better than in-person voting.

Georgia is expecting yet another primary in August, and a vigorous debate about improving voting procedures has already begun. Some Republican legislators have already opposed mailing ballot applications to voters in August. You can read more about the Georgia election here and here.

(From NC Policy Watch) Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 1169 into law on Friday. Though the measure became entangled in a last minute effort by Republicans to resurrect their enjoined voter ID law, voting rights/good government advocates are claiming victory and dismissing the voter ID push as, in effect, too little, too late. As he signed the bill Cooper said, “Making sure elections are safe and secure is more important than ever during this pandemic, and this funding is crucial to that effort. This legislation makes some other positive changes, but much more work is needed to ensure everyone’s right to vote is protected.”

• Reduces the absentee ballot witness requirement from two to one
• Allows voters to submit an absentee ballot request form via email, online portal, fax, mail or in person (prior to this bill, NC voters could submit an absentee ballot request form only by mail or in person)
• Gives counties greater flexibility in where they assign poll workers, better allowing them to address possible poll worker shortages at precincts
• Allocates state matching funds to take advantage of federal CARES Act and HAVA money
• Allocates funds to counties to prepare for elections amid COVID-19, including the purchasing of personal protective equipment for use at polling places and increasing recruitment and compensation of poll workers
• Allocates funds for election security and continuity of operations in case of disaster

​However, it should be noted that none of the new provisions are a complete solution to the underlying challenge of voting by mail: longer processing time due to a likely surge in ballot applications in October, and increased mailing times. Apply now for a vote by mail ballot to ensure that your vote counts.

President Donald Trump has blasted out unsupported claims that mail-in voting leads to fraud despite the fact that the President himself votes by mail. Trump's opposition didn't stop North Carolina legislators from giving HB 1169 bipartisan support. Allowing voters to cast their ballots by mail is seen as critical in the wake of recent botched elections in Wisconsin and Georgia in which voters were forced to risk their health standing in line for hours to vote during a pandemic. 

​Click here for comments on the bill from Common Cause. Click here for an article in the New York Times.

Are you worried about the consequences of 4 more years of awful leadership in our highest elected office? One of our most urgent priorities now is to ensure that Democratic voters are able to vote safely in November. 

We may not be able to knock doors, but we can do it virtually! We want to reach out to our fellow Democrats by phone to check-in and ask how they are doing and to help them apply early for an absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election.  We want every possible vote to be counted, and to make that happen we need to start NOW!

We Need:

• Phone knockers to call people. All you need is a computer or tablet and a phone in the safety of your own home and on your own schedule!  
• Data captains to pull lists of those who need help getting their absentee ballot request form.  
• Fullfilment volunteers to mail or drop request forms at voters’ doors.

 Email Susanne Werner, [email protected], or Joanne Durham, [email protected] to get connected to this critical effort.