Senate Bill 382 (“SB 382”) is a massive power grab created behind closed doors to deliberately undermine the results of the 2024 General Election. Ramming through a Conference Report without member and public input is not how a free democracy works. In masking this shameful attempt to consolidate power with a partial and grossly inadequate hurricane relief bill, the legislature is prioritizing politics and not the people of North Carolina, especially those still struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene.
In less than 24 hours after it was introduced, SB 382 passed both chambers of the General Assembly and is being sent to Gov. Cooper’s office. Senate voted 30-19, while the House voted 63-46. If Gov. Cooper vetoes the bill in December, the General Assembly will have a chance to override the veto.
Senate Bill 382 is a massive overhaul of how elections are conducted in North Carolina, which includes slashing the number of days from 9 to 3 that voters have to “cure” or fix their provisional ballots related to photo ID or registration and mail ballot deficiencies. SB 382 transfers oversight of the North Carolina State Board of Elections to the State Auditor, a recently elected partisan official. Similar to previous attempts found unconstitutional, SB 382 removes the Governor’s powers to appoint State Board of Elections members and County Board chairs, granting it to the State Auditor instead.
Also included in the 132-page bill makes it harder for the Attorney General to represent consumers to receive fair treatment from utility providers and appropriates $500 million to private school vouchers on top of the $850 million that was provided in September.
Although SB 382 provides $227 million to Hurricane Helene, $225 million cannot be immediately used and will remain unspent in the Helene Fund until December, when the General Assembly acts. It fails to provide any necessary funding to ensure stable housing (like rental assistance or eviction moratorium), childcare provider support, and grants to small businesses.
If passed, SB 382 will:
Campaign Finance
- Allow political parties to use their party headquarters building funds to fund a legal action or to make donations to a candidate’s legal expense funds. Building funds may accept unlimited corporate contributions, creating a system where corporate campaign contributions could fund a never-ending cycle of political partisan litigation schemes.
Election Administration & Oversight
- Transfer the North Carolina State Board of Elections to the Department of State Auditor and require the State Auditor to “direct and supervise” the budget.
- Remove the Governor’s powers to appoint members to the State Board of Elections, granting it to the State Auditor instead, including any member vacancies. Similarly, the Governor’s appointment power of each County Board of Elections’ chair member is granted to the State Auditor.
- Reverse provisions in Senate Bill 749, which transferred the State Board to the Department of Secretary of State in 2023 and is currently being challenged in state court. The reason for this change is apparent: giving oversight to a recently elected official that aligns with the partisan makeup of the legislative leadership, effectively mooting legal action.
Mail-in & Provisional Ballots
- Require all provisional ballots to be researched and counted by 5 p.m. on the third day after Election Day. This deadline is unfeasible for many under-funded County Boards and risks compromising the accuracy and thoroughness of vote counts.
- Change the deadline to request a mail-in ballot from the “Tuesday” before the election to the second Tuesday before the election – shortening the request timeline by one week.
- Change the timeline for voters to fix or “cure” their ballots related to voter photo ID, voter registration, and mail ballot deficiencies to noon on the 3rd day after Election Day.
- Require all mail-in ballots to be counted in an ongoing meeting starting at 5 p.m. on Election Day. Supplemental meetings would be limited to UOCAVA ballots and challenges only. Mail-in ballot tallies would be announced at 5 p.m. on the third day after Election Day, including civilian mail ballots fixed or “cured” by noon that same day.
- Condense the canvass process jeopardizing voter confidence in safe and secure elections. The proposed changes fail to account for the operational realities that many election officials face when processing thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots, which could potentially lead to unsustainable and unfair working conditions for election officials.
Judicial Appointments
- Create two special Superior Court Judge positions, appointed by the NCGA leadership, while also removing two elected Superior Court seats (Superior Court Judges Bryan Collins and L. Todd Burke). This follows an unconstitutional trend by certain General Assembly leaders to appoint certain judges outside of the electoral process.
- Create funds for the Rules Review Commission to offset litigation expenses and retain private counsel.
- Abolish the Courts Commission, which studies and makes recommendations to improve issues in the Judicial Branch, like eliminating racially disparate treatment.
- Give NC Chief Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby the power to decide who the Senior Resident Superior Court judge is in each district, rather than the longest serving, which is current law.
Require the Governor to fill judicial vacancies in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals with a justice or judge of the same party, a similar scheme that was voted down by voters in 2018.