Democracy NC to Elections Board: Amendment “Addresses the Credible Possibility COVID-19’s Spread Could Disrupt Voters’ Access”

Durham, N.C. (April 21, 2020) — In a letter submitted as part of public comment offered to the N.C. State Board of Elections, Democracy North Carolina’s Tomas Lopez made the case for temporarily amending current election rules to allow the State Elections Director to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

The proposed amendment would clarify that the state elections director is allowed to use emergency action during upcoming elections in the case of a “disease epidemic” or “other public health incident.” This would be an important first step in ensuring that our elections can respond to the current public health situation— and there will be additional important steps in the time ahead.

Democracy NC's 4/20 Letter to the State Elections Board

Letter supports SBOE amendment allowing the elections chief to respond to COVID-19 crisis.

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In his letter to the State Board, Lopez said Democracy North Carolina supports the temporary change because it “addresses the credible possibility COVID-19’s spread could disrupt both voters’ access to the fall election and officials’ ability to effectively administer that election.”

The online comment period ended on April 20, and was capped by a virtual public comment meeting hosted by the State Board. In addition to those showing support for the amendment, dozens of North Carolina voters called in to express opposition to the proposed change saying the amendment would lead to a “slippery slope” of widespread election changes, a prospect the State Board staff assured voters was not possible under the rule.

Lopez responded to opponents of the change, saying that “While the details of specific election administration practices are rightfully a topic of public interest, they do not bear on the question before the State Board. The language at issue here does not mandate the implementation of any particular policy or practice.”

He added, “Just as in other situations where election access and administration are ‘impaired,’ as provided in the current rule, we believe that the executive director’s authority in this or future public health crises is an important contingency measure.”

“[The change] addresses the credible possibility COVID-19’s spread could disrupt both voters’ access to the fall election and officials’ ability to effectively administer that election.” –Tomas Lopez, Democracy NC