GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 958
Short Title: Election Law Changes. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Blackwell and Stevens (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Election Law, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H958 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES TO ELECTI ON ADMINISTRATION LA WS 2
AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 163-22 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 5
"(u) In educating voters, the State Board shall not use its role to recruit or encourage voters 6
to associate with any political party over another or to influence voter turnout for a particular 7
political party." 8
SECTION 2. G.S. 163-90.2(a) reads as rewritten: 9
"(a) When any challenge is sustained for any cause listed under G.S. 163-85(c), the board 10
shall cancel or correct the voter registration of the voter. The county board shall maintain such 11
record for at least six months and during the pendency of any appeal. The Except for challenges 12
sustained for cause listed under G.S. 163-85(c)(6), the challenged ballot shall be counted for any 13
ballot items for which the challenged voter is eligible to vote, as if it were a provisional official 14
ballot under the provisions of G.S. 163-166.11(4). For any challenge sustained for death of the 15
voter under G.S. 163-85(c)(6), the challenged ballot shall not be counted if the voter died between 16
the time the ballot was cast and 6:30 A.M. on election day." 17
SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 163-165.5(a)(4) reads as rewritten: 18
"(4) Party designations in partisan ballot items. Party designations shall be printed 19
in the same font type and size as the name of the candidate." 20
SECTION 3.(b) This section becomes effective January 1, 2026, and applies to 21
elections held on or after that date. 22
SECTION 4. G.S. 163-166.35(a) reads as rewritten: 23
"(a) A county board of elections by unanimous vote of all its members may provide for 24
one or more sites in that county for ballots to be applied for and cast under this Part. Each county 25
board shall open at least one early voting site for every 30,000 registered voters, or any portion 26
thereof, registered in that county as of July 1 of the previous calendar year. The county board 27
shall seek to provide geographic diversity when selecting locations for early voting sites. Except 28
for individuals appointed to early voting sites pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, every 29
individual staffing any of those sites shall be a member or full-time employee of the county board 30
of elections or an employee of the county board of elections whom the board has given training 31
equivalent to that given a full-time employee. Those sites must be approved by the State Board 32
as part of a Plan for Implementation approved by both the county board of elections and by the 33
State Board which shall also provide adequate security of the ballots and provisions to avoid 34
allowing persons to vote who have already voted. A county board of elections may propose in its 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 958-First Edition
Plan for Implementation not to offer early voting at the county board of elections office; the State 1
Board may approve that proposal in a Plan for Implementation only if the Plan for 2
Implementation includes at least one site reasonably proximate to the county board of elections 3
office and the State Board finds that the sites in the Plan for Implementation as a whole provide 4
adequate coverage of the county's electorate. If a county board of elections has considered a 5
proposed Plan or Plans for Implementation and has been unable to reach unanimity in favor of a 6
Plan for Implementation, a member or members of that county board of elections may petition 7
the State Board to adopt a plan for it. If petitioned, the State Board may also receive and consider 8
alternative petitions from another member or members of that county board. The State Board 9
may adopt a Plan for Implementation for that county. The State Board, in that plan, shall take 10
into consideration whether the Plan for Implementation disproportionately favors any party, 11
racial or ethnic group, or candidate." 12
SECTION 5. G.S. 163-182.1(b)(1) reads as rewritten: 13
"(1) Provide for a sample hand-to-eye count of the paper ballots of a statewide 14
ballot item in every county. The presidential ballot item shall be the subject of 15
the sampling in a presidential election. If there is no statewide ballot item, the 16
State Board Auditor shall provide a process for selecting district or local ballot 17
items to adequately sample the electorate. The State Board shall approve in an 18
open meeting the procedure for randomly selecting the sample precincts for 19
each election. The random selection of precincts for any county shall be done 20
publicly after the initial count of election returns for that county is publicly 21
released or 24 hours after the polls close on election day, whichever is earlier. 22
The sample chosen by the State Board Auditor shall be of one or more full 23
precincts, full counts of mailed absentee ballots, full counts of one or more 24
early voting sites, or a combination. The size of the sample of each category 25
shall be chosen to produce a statistically significant result and shall be chosen 26
after consultation with a statistician. The actual units shall be chosen at 27
random. In the event of a material discrepancy between the electronic or 28
mechanical count and a hand-to-eye count, the hand-to-eye count shall 29
control, except where paper ballots have been lost or destroyed or where there 30
is another reasonable basis to conclude that the hand-to-eye count is not the 31
true count. If the discrepancy between the hand-to-eye count and the 32
mechanical or electronic count is significant, a complete hand-to-eye count 33
shall be conducted." 34
SECTION 6.(a) G.S. 163-182.2(a), as amended by Section 3A.4(e) of S.L. 2024-57, 35
reads as rewritten: 36
"(a) The initial counting of official ballots cast on election day and under Part 5 of Article 37
14A of this Chapter shall be conducted according to the following principles: 38
… 39
(4) If the county board finds that an individual voting a provisional official ballot 40
(i) was registered in the county as provided in 163-82.1, (ii) voted in the proper 41
precinct under G.S. 163-55 and G.S. 163-57, and (iii) was otherwise eligible 42
to vote, the provisional official ballots shall be counted by the county board 43
no later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day after the election. election; 44
provided, however, for counties with over 250,000 registered voters in that 45
election, the provisional official ballots shall be counted by the county board 46
no later than 5:00 P.M. on the fifth business day after the election. Except as 47
provided in G.S. 163-82.15(e), if the county board finds that an individual 48
voting a provisional official ballot (i) did not vote in the proper precinct under 49
G.S. 163-55 and G.S. 163-57, (ii) is not registered in the county as provided 50
in G.S. 163-82.1, or (iii) is otherwise not eligible to vote, the ballot shall not 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 958-First Edition Page 3
be counted. If a voter was properly registered to vote in the election by the 1
county board, no mistake of an election official in giving the voter a ballot or 2
in failing to comply with G.S. 163-82.15 or G.S. 163-166.11 shall serve to 3
prevent the counting of the vote on any ballot item the voter was eligible by 4
registration and qualified by residency to vote. 5
(5) Precinct officials shall provide a preliminary report of the vote counting on 6
election day to the county board of elections as quickly as possible. The 7
preliminary report shall be unofficial, has shall: 8
a. Be unofficial. 9
b. Have no binding effect upon the official county canvass to follow, and 10
shall include follow. 11
c. Include the number of provisional ballots cast in that precinct and the 12
number of outstanding provisional ballots cast in that precinct. 13
…." 14
SECTION 6.(b) G.S. 163-234, as amended by Section 3A.4(g) of S.L. 2024-57, 15
reads as rewritten: 16
"§ 163-234. Counting absentee ballots by county board. 17
All absentee ballots returned to the county board in the container-return envelopes shall be 18
retained by the county board to be counted by the county board as follows: 19
… 20
(2) The county board shall meet at 5:00 P.M. on election day in the county board 21
office or other public location in the county courthouse for the purpose of 22
counting all absentee ballots except those which have been challenged before 23
5:00 P.M. on election day day, those described in subdivision (13) of this 24
section, and those received pursuant to G.S. 163-231(b)(2). Any elector of the 25
county shall be permitted to attend the meeting and allowed to observe the 26
counting process, so long as the elector does not in any manner interfere with 27
the election officials in the discharge of their duties. The count of these 28
absentee ballots shall be continuous until completed, and the members shall 29
not separate or leave the counting place except for unavoidable necessity. 30
The county board may begin counting absentee ballots issued under 31
Article 21A of this Chapter between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. 32
and may begin counting all absentee ballots between the hours of 2:00 P.M. 33
and 5:00 P.M. upon the adoption of a resolution at least two weeks prior to the 34
election in which the hour and place of counting absentee ballots shall be 35
stated. A copy of the resolution shall be published once a week for two weeks 36
prior to the election, in a newspaper having general circulation in the county. 37
Notice may additionally be made on a radio or television station or both, but 38
the notice shall be in addition to the newspaper and other required notice. The 39
count shall be continuous until completed and the members shall not separate 40
or leave the counting place except for unavoidable necessity, except that if the 41
count has been completed prior to the time the polls close, it shall be 42
suspended until that time pending receipt of any additional ballots. Nothing in 43
this section prohibits a county board from taking preparatory steps for the 44
count earlier than the times specified in this section, as long as the preparatory 45
steps do not reveal to any individual not engaged in the actual count election 46
results before the times specified in this subdivision for the count to begin. By 47
way of illustration and not limitation, a preparatory step for the count would 48
be the entry of tally cards from direct record electronic voting units into a 49
computer for processing. The county board shall not announce the result of 50
the count before 7:30 P.M. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 958-First Edition
… 1
(12) No later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day after the election, the county 2
board shall announce the tally of all absentee ballots, except those subject to 3
a challenge challenge, those subject to subdivision (13) of this section, or 4
those cast in accordance with Article 21A of this Chapter. 5
(13) For counties with over 250,000 registered voters in that election, the following 6
shall apply: 7
a. All absentee ballots received by the county board on the Monday 8
before election day shall be processed no later than 7:30 P.M. the day 9
before election day. 10
b. The county board shall count and report the results of all absentee 11
ballots received before election day no later than 7:30 P.M. on election 12
day. 13
c. The county board shall report the number of absentee ballots received 14
on election day no later than 7:30 P.M. on election day. 15
d. For absentee ballots received on election day, the county board shall 16
count and report the results of those absentee ballots no later than 5:00 17
P.M. on the fifth business day after the election." 18
SECTION 7. G.S. 163-230.1(e1), as amended by Section 3A.4(f) of S.L. 2024-57, 19
reads as rewritten: 20
"(e1) Curable Deficiencies. – If a container-return envelope contains a curable deficiency, 21
the county board shall promptly notify the voter of the deficiency and the manner in which the 22
voter may cure the deficiency. Curable deficiencies are deficiencies that can be cured with 23
supplemental documentation or attestation provided by the voter, including when any of the 24
following occurs: 25
(1) The voter did not sign the voter certification as required by 26
G.S. 163-231(a)(4). 27
(2) The voter signed the application in the wrong place on the application. 28
(3) The voter failed to include with the container-return envelope a photocopy of 29
identification described in G.S. 163-166.16(a) or an affidavit as described in 30
G.S. 163-166.16(d)(1), (d)(2), or (d)(3), as required by subsection (f1) of this 31
section. 32
The identification of the two persons witnessing the casting of the absentee ballot in 33
accordance with G.S. 163-231(a) is not a curable deficiency. Any container-return envelope with 34
a curable deficiency that is transmitted to the county board shall be considered timely if cure 35
documentation is received no later than 12:00 5:00 P.M. on the third fifth business day after the 36
election. Cure documentation may be transmitted via email to the county board if the deficiency 37
is one described in subdivision (3) of this subsection. The notification of voters regarding curable 38
deficiencies is an administrative task that may be performed by county board staff and is not 39
required to be performed at an absentee meeting as provided for in subsection (f) of this section. 40
The voter shall be notified of curable deficiencies by mail, and by telephone or email if the 41
telephone number or email address was provided by the voter on the request form for absentee 42
ballots." 43
SECTION 8.(a) G.S. 163-278.9 reads as rewritten: 44
"§ 163-278.9. Statements filed with State Board. 45
(a) Except as provided in G.S. 163-278.10A, the treasurer of each candidate and of each 46
political committee shall file with the State Board under certification of the treasurer as true and 47
correct to the best of the knowledge of that officer the following reports: 48
… 49
(2) 48-Hour Report. – A political committee, political party or affiliated party 50
committee that receives a contribution or transfer of funds shall disclose 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 958-First Edition Page 5
within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or transfer of one two thousand 1
dollars ($1,000) ($2,000) or more received before an election but after the 2
period covered by the last report due before that election. The disclosure shall 3
be by report to the State Board identifying the source and amount of the funds. 4
The State Board shall specify the form and manner of making the report, 5
including the reporting of in-kind contributions. The State Board shall 6
increase the dollar amount of the reporting threshold effective each election 7
cycle beginning the period from January 1 of an odd-numbered year through 8
December 31 of the next even-numbered year based on the Consumer Price 9
Index as provided in G.S. 163-278.13(b). The State Board shall set the revised 10
threshold in October of the even-numbered year, publish the revised threshold 11
in the North Carolina Register, and notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall 12
adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision. 13
… 14
(a1) Subdivision (a)(2) of this section shall not apply to any candidate campaign 15
committee, as defined by G.S. 163-278.38Z, in a primary election in which the candidate is 16
unopposed on that ballot. 17
…." 18
SECTION 8.(b) G.S. 163-278.9A reads as rewritten: 19
"§ 163-278.9A. Statements filed by referendum committees. 20
(a) The treasurer of each referendum committee shall file under verification with the 21
Board the following reports: 22
… 23
(3) 48-Hour Report. – A referendum committee that receives a contribution or 24
transfer of funds shall disclose within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or 25
transfer of one two thousand dollars ($1,000) ($2,000) or more received before 26
a referendum but after the period covered by the last report due before that 27
referendum. The disclosure shall be by report to the State Board of Elections 28
identifying the source and amount of such funds. The State Board of Elections 29
shall specify the form and manner of making the report, including the 30
reporting of in-kind contributions. The State Board shall increase the dollar 31
amount of the reporting threshold effective each election cycle beginning the 32
period from January 1 of an odd-numbered year through December 31 of the 33
next even-numbered year based on the Consumer Price Index as provided in 34
G.S. 163-278.13(b). The State Board shall set the revised threshold in October 35
of the even-numbered year, publish the revised threshold in the North Carolina 36
Register, and notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall adjust the dollar amount 37
in this subdivision. 38
… 39
(a1) Subdivision (a)(3) of this section shall not apply to any candidate campaign 40
committee, as defined by G.S. 163-278.38Z, in a primary election in which the candidate is 41
unopposed on that ballot. 42
…." 43
SECTION 8.(c) No earlier than October 1, 2025, the State Board of Elections shall 44
adjust the thresholds imposed by G.S. 163-278.9(a)(2) and G.S. 163-278.9A(a)(3), as enacted by 45
this section, effective for the election cycle beginning January 1, 2027. 46
SECTION 9. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law 47
and applies to elections held on or after that date. 48