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MAGA GOP majority in our General Assembly doesn't want you to vote: Statement from BCDP chair


PRESS STATEMENT

For Immediate Release

June 13, 2023


A Statement from Shelley Allen,

Chair of the Brunswick County Democratic Party,

Concerning SB 747, Election Law Changes Act


MAGA GOP-Majority in Our General Assembly

Doesn’t Want You to Vote


Earlier this year, North Carolina’s new MAGA-majority Supreme Court restored a voter photo ID requirement struck down by the previous court. However, the North Carolina General Assembly’s MAGA Republicans weren’t satisfied. After consorting with known Trump election-denying extremists Jim Womack and Cleta Mitchell, they drafted SB 747, the "Election Law Changes Act,” to kick voter suppression in our state into high gear.


Jim Womack is a member of the extremist “NC Election Integrity Network,” and Attorney Cleta Mitchell tried to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.


As Governor Cooper stated on Twitter, “Here they go with advice from election deniers and fraud perpetrators. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t about protecting elections. It’s about rigging them to help Republicans.”


Like the 2020 presidential election, North Carolina’s elections are free and fair, with no widespread voter fraud. Despite these facts, SB 747 contains a passel of onerous, unnecessary regulations that will make voting harder for the young, the elderly, the disabled, people of color, and those without convenient transportation. The bill also places burdensome procedures on county boards of elections staff while simultaneously banning grant money to help shoulder the added costs.


Here are a few SB 747’s unnecessary provisions:

  • Allow anyone in a county to challenge legitimate ballots, thereby violating voter privacy.

  • Require additional signature verification on absentee ballots.

  • Shorten the time allotted for voters to return mail-in/absentee ballots. Currently, there is a three-day grace period following elections for ballots postmarked in time to be received. SB 747 would cast out any ballots not received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, likely prohibiting thousands of legitimate ballots from being tallied.

  • Undermine same-day registration for hundreds of thousands of citizens by requiring same-day registrants to use a provisional ballot (currently same-day registrants are given a standard ballot).

The revised bill is headed for votes this week in both houses of the legislature. Please fill out Common Cause’s FORM and contact your North Carolina General Assemblymen to demand that they reject this MAGA voter suppression legislation.


CONTACT YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS (North Carolina General Assembly):

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*NEW* from Common Cause: SB 747 Toolkit and Talking Points

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