House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes. Makes conforming changes to the act’s long title. Makes organizational changes, including dividing the act into parts.

Removes the following provisions:

Amending GS 163-22 by adding new subsection (u) prohibiting the State Board, in educating voters, from using its role to recruit or encourage voters to associate with any political party over another or to influence voter turnout for a particular political party.

Amending GS 163-166.35(a) by adding requirement that each county board open at least one early voting site for every 30,000 registered voters, or any portion thereof, registered as of July 1st of the previous calendar year.

Amending GS 163-182.1(b)(1) making it the State Auditor’s responsibility to provide a process for selecting district or local ballot items to adequately sample the electorate when there is no statewide ballot and removing the requirement that the State Board approve the procedure for randomly selecting the sample precincts for each election.

Part I.

Section 1.1.

Adds content recodifying GS 163-182.2(a)(4) (county board of election-BOE findings on provisional ballots pertaining to precinct voting) as GS 163-182.2(a2) and GS 163-182.2(a)(6) (county BOE recounts) as GS 163-182.2(a3).

Further amends GS 163-182.2, as amended, as follows. Removes the prior edition’s changes to GS 163-182.2(a) (was, Section 6(a)). Instead, adds the following content. Creates three separate principles governing the initial counting of early voting official ballots cast under GS Chapter 163’s Article 14A, Part 5 (early voting) as follows:

• Vote counting must occur between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on election day at the hour and place stated in a resolution adopted by the county board at least two weeks prior to the time the voting place opens. Prohibits the county board from revealing the result of the count prior to the close of polls on election day.  
• Vote counting must be conducted in the presence or under the supervision of county board members of all political parties then present; and 
• Any member of the public wishing to witness the vote count must be allowed to do so. Prohibits any witness from interfering with the orderly counting of the official ballots or participating in the official counting of official ballots.

Extends the time that a county BOE has to count provisional ballots under recodified GS 163-182.2(a2) from 5:00 PM on the third business day after the election to the fifth business day after the election. Authorizes county BOE’s to review the provisional ballots and take preparatory steps for the count prior to the election day using the absentee ballot procedure so long as the preparatory steps do not reveal the count results prior to the close of polls on election day. Requires the county BOE to determine whether to count a provisional ballot that it believes may be false based on the affidavit by the date of the county canvass. Makes technical changes. Provides for notice by publication of any resolution required by GS 163-182.2.

Section 1.2 (was, Section 7).

Reverts provisions extending the time under GS 163-230.1(e1) that the container-return envelope containing a curable deficiency is considered timely from 5:00 pm back to the statute’s original noontime deadline. Maintains the extension of the deadline from the third to the fifth business day after the election. 

Section 1.3.

Adds provisions to GS 163-231 requiring that only those voted absentee ballots transmitted to a county BOE in line with the statute can be counted.

Section 1.4 (was, Section 6(b)).

Removes the prior edition’s changes to GS 163-234 (hand counting of absentee ballots). Instead, makes the following changes to GS 163-234, as amended by the act. Now requires that the county BOE not adjourn its meeting to count the described absentee ballots until the count is complete (currently, the count must be continuous until complete, with members prevented from separating or leaving the counting place except for unavoidable necessity). Makes conforming changes. Removes reference to GS Chapter 163, Article 21A, so that the county BOE may start counting absentee ballots between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm upon adoption of the described resolution (currently, county BOE can start counting all absentee ballots from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and the 9:00 am-5:00 pm timeframe is for those absentee ballots cast under Article  21A). Changes the time that the county BOE can announce its counting result from 7:30 pm on election day to prior to the close of polls. Expands the ballots that the county BOE must count to include absentee ballots with deficiencies that have been cured.  Extends the time the county BOE has to announce its tally from 5:00 pm on the third business after the election to the fifth business day after the election. Clarifies that absentee ballots subject to challenge for which a final decision on a curable deficiency remains pending should not be included in that tally.

Section 1.5.

Effective December 1, 2025, makes it a felony under GS 163-275 for any person to reveal the result of any count of ballots prior to the close of polls on election day. Applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

Specifies that the remainder of Part I’s provisions are effective January 1, 2026, and apply to elections held on or after that date.

Part II.

Section 2.2.

Recodifies GS 163-41(d) (vacancies of election judges at any time other than the day of a primary or election) as GS 163-41.3.  Authorizes any precinct official to be removed from office, including on the day of the election or primary, for incompetency or failure to discharge the duties of office by the county BOE. Authorizes the county BOE to ban a precinct official  who has been removed from office from serving as a precinct official in any subsequent election. Makes conforming and clarifying changes to GS 163-41 as amended by the act and GS 163-33.

Requires, in GS 163-42, for each county BOE to have, at minimum, six emergency election-day assistants. Expands the reasons an emergency election day-assistant can be assigned to a precinct so that it includes any emergency (was, emergency occurring within a specified time period), removal of a precinct official, or any other reason that prevents a precinct official from serving throughout the day of the primary or election. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Requires coverage of seven described matters as the minimum training requirements for precinct officials under GS 163-82.24, including, their duties, how to confirm whether a person presenting to vote is registered in that county, and the procedure for opening and closing of polls.

Effective January 1, 2026, and applies to elections held on or after that date.

Section 2.3 (was, Section 2).

Removes cross reference to GS 163-85(c)(6) as the exception to the general rule in GS 169-90.2(a) that a challenged ballot is to be counted for any ballot items for which the challenged voter is eligible to vote, as if it were a provisional official ballot. Instead, designates GS 169-90.2(a)’s provisions pertaining to the death of a voter as the exception to that general rule. Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Section 2.4

Expands what is considered a public building or facility under GS 14-132 (criminal offense of disorderly conduct in and injuries to public buildings and facilities) to include a building temporarily in use as a voting place during voting hours. Removes the limitation that the public building or facility at issue must be owned by the State, any subdivision thereof, or any other public agency for the proprietor of the building to have the power to summarily arrest an individual in violation of GS 14-132. Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to engage in (currently, be guilty of) any disorderly conduct, in or near any public building or facility. Makes technical and organizational changes. 

Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize, or unlawfully remove political advertising that is lawfully placed under GS 163-166.4(b).

Applies to offenses committed on or after October 1, 2025.

Section 2.5.

Enacts GS 163-165.6A banning rank choice voting (defined) from being used in any referendum, primary, or other election. Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Section 2.6.

Requires that all notices sent to applicants for registration to vote have a return to sender provision, as described, under GS 163-82.7. Makes conforming changes to GS 163-82.14 (confirmation mailings of addresses). Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Section 2.7.

Requires, in GS 163-166.40, that any materials containing the vote count and any voting equipment used during early voting be kept secure in a locked location by the county BOE until initial counting begins. Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Part III.

Section 3.1.

Broadens the type of statements that a member of the State Board of Elections (SBE) is prevented from making under GS 163-19 to include statements supporting any political party over another, influencing voter turnout for a particular political party, or statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large encouraging or promoting voter turnout in any election. Prevents members of county BOE’s from making three kinds of oral or written statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large under GS 163-30, including encouraging or promoting voter turnout in any election. Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Section 3.2.

Removes provisions from GS 163-25 (authority of SBE to assist in litigation) requiring that the Attorney General assist the SBE in litigation under this provision or authorizing the Attorney General to recommend private counsel instead. Instead, authorizes the SBE to retain private counsel for any of four listed matters, including any matter arising with SBE’s or the Executive Director’s (ED) actions under GS Chapter 163. Allows the SBE to use available funds to pay for private counsel (was, needed NCGA’s approval to pay for counsel). Requires SBE to supervise and manage such counsel. Specifies that GS 114-2.3 (limiting the use of private counsel-Attorney General) and GS 147-17 (private counsel where the State is an interested party) do not apply to private counsel hired by the SBE. Specifies that any communications or documents made in connection with the provision of legal services by private counsel are not public records under the State’s public records law. Makes organizational, technical, and clarifying changes. Applies to litigation existing on or after the act becomes law.

Section 3.3.

Exempts the ED and SBE employees that the ED designates as exempt, from the described provisions of the State Human Resources Act under GS 126-5. Caps the exempt positions at 25. Specifies that the total number full-time positions in the Department of the State Auditor does not include SBE employees.

Part IV.

Section 4.1.

Requires, under GS 163-258.10, a covered voter to submit the military-overseas ballot with a form of identification that contains a photograph of the covered voter as described. Tasks SBE with providing the means for any identification electronically submitted to be submitted in a secure manner. Applies to elections held on or after January 1, 2026.

Part V.

Section 5.1 (was, Section 8).

Makes technical change to GS 163-278.9.

Removes provisions from GS 163-278.9A exempting any candidate campaign committee in a primary election in which the candidate is unopposed on that ballot from the 48-hour reporting requirement.

Section 5.2.

Defines foreign national in GS 163-278.6 (definitions pertaining to regulating contributions and expenditures in political campaigns). Prevents, in new GS 163-278.19C, a referendum committee from accepting any contribution from a foreign national unless: (1) the contribution is derived solely from funds generated by operations in the United States and (2) all decisions concerning the contribution are made by an individual or group of individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States. Applies to contributions held on or after January 1, 2026.  

Part VI.

Directs SBE to select ten counties in the State in which to conduct a pilot program during the primary held in 2026 for signature verification on executed absentee ballots, consisting of county BOE’s using signature verification software to check the signatures of voters noted on all executed absentee ballots received by the county BOE’s in the 2026 primary. Details requirements for selection of the ten counties. Provides for assistance by the SBE to the county BOE’s in implementing the software, including by training. Requires the county BOE’s to report to the SBE its findings, including the four specified matters. Further directs the SBE to report its findings and recommendations to the NCGA, and the specified committee by May 1, 2026, including the four specified matters.

Part VII.

Directs the UNC School of Government to work jointly with the SBE to develop a uniform curriculum to provide trainings for county directors of elections and employees of county BOEs on the election laws and procedures as provided for in GS Chapter 163. Directs the SBE to partner with local community colleges to provide locations for trainings conducted by the SBE or county BOEs.

Part VIII.

Makes conforming change to effective date.