Legislation that threatens voters' ballot access and personal data cleared the House this week – but most likely won't be in effect this November – as lawmakers left Raleigh to turn their attention to the election season.
The House gaveled out on Wednesday and the Senate did the same last week. House Speaker Destin Hall advised state representatives that, while brief sessions are scheduled for both the House and Senate each month, no votes are expected until a post-election "lame duck" session.
Gov. Josh Stein says he'll veto H958, Election Law Changes, and since the legislature won't hold an override vote before the mid-term election on Nov. 3, we won't immediately face damaging changes to North Carolina election laws that include:
- Shortening the early voting period for primary elections from 17 to 10 days,
- Revising and prolonging the process for unhappy candidates to challenge election results,
- Requiring the state DMV to provide monthly registration data reports to the state Board of Elections – including your full Social Security number – opening many more opportunities for your sensitive personal information to be leaked or hacked.
Thanks to each of you who contacted your state representatives on short notice to urge them to vote against passing H958. As we often say, a healthy environment depends on a healthy democracy – and there's still hope with this bill: Its backers will need to scramble to get enough votes for a veto override. Please stay tuned for news on how you can help us encourage lawmakers to vote NO on overturning Stein's veto of H958!
The House also adopted conference reports for two more bills we've been tracking, H268, 2026 Budget Technical Corrections - II, and S445, Regulatory Reform Act of 2026, and sent them to Stein.