VOTER INTEGRITY.

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View NCGA Bill Details2013-2014 Session
House Bill 913 (Public) Filed Thursday, April 11, 2013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO BETTER ENSURE VOTER INTEGRITY.
Intro. by Blust.

Status: Ref To Com On Elections (House Action) (Apr 15 2013)

Bill History:

H 913

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: Apr 16 2013 - View Summary

    Eliminate same-day registration. Repeals GS 163-82.6A (In‑person registration and voting at one‑stop sites). Makes conforming changes to GS 163-82.6, GS 163-166.12, and GS 163-227.2.

    Provisional ballots retrievable. Amends GS 163-166.11 to provide that a provisional ballot is retrievable, meaning that if it is counted and later determined that it should not have been counted, the ballot may be removed from the total.

    Physical address required to vote. Amends GS 163-57 to provide that a vacant lot or business address is not considered a residence or used as a residential address unless a person uses that location as their usual sleeping area.

    Enhanced voter list maintenance. Amends GS 163-33 to include in the county board of elections' duties, making forms available for reporting the status of deceased voters. Amends GS 163-82.14 to require the county board of elections to remove a person identified in a sworn statement as deceased from its voter registration records. Enacts new GS 90-210.25C to encourage funeral directors and funeral service licensees to make the reporting forms available to the deceased's near relative. Requires the State Board of Elections (State Board) to seek participation in any national or interstate efforts to share vital records data for the purpose of voter roll maintenance. Requires any state allowed access to North Carolina vital records for voter roll maintenance to allow reciprocal access by July 1, 2015, or they will no longer have access to North Carolina records. Also requires the Division of Motor Vehicles to exchange information with the State Board.

    Compensation for voter registration limited. Amends GS 163-274 to make it a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to be compensated for assisting persons in registering to vote, unless the person is conducting voter registration for a governmental agency as required by GS Chapter 163, or by federal law.

    Election observer rights specified. Amends GS 163-45 to allow observers to be present and to move about the voting place before, during, and following the closing of the polls until the chief judge and judges have completed their duties. Allows observers to observe officials checking registration from a position that allows the observer to clearly hear and understand voter responses. Requires a chief judge or judges of a precinct that limit the movement of, or expel, an observer to specify the reasons in writing, witnessed by at least one of the other precinct judges. If it is found that the action was without cause, requires the chief judge or judge to be fined the sum of the wage paid to the judge for that election, and permanently bars them from serving as a chief judge or judge upon committing a second offense.

    Enhance delivery of military and overseas absentee ballots for presidential election when presidential nominating conventions conclude after Labor Day. Amends GS 163-227.3 and GS 163-258.9 to provide that in a presidential election year, the board of elections must provide general election ballots no later than three days after the nomination of the presidential and vice presidential candidates if the nomination occurs later than 57 days before the statewide general election and makes compliance with the 60-day deadline impossible.

    Effective January 1, 2014.