“Protect Our Vote”: Governor Stein Vetoes House Bill 958, Urges North Carolinians to Call on Legislators to Uphold His Veto

Today Governor Josh Stein vetoed House Bill 958 and urged North Carolinians to call on their legislators to protect their right to vote. During a "Protect Our Vote" event at the Executive Mansion, Governor Stein was joined by North Carolina Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, North Carolina House Minority Leader Robert Reives, Rev. James Gailliard, and North Carolina A&T student Shia Rozier, who underscored the way this legislation would undermine people's right to vote.

"The General Assembly wants to make it harder for people to vote and easier to throw out votes they don't like after Election Day. This damaging bill eliminates a week of early voting in the primary, invites sore losers to try to overturn general elections by throwing out people's votes after the race is over, and sows distrust in our elections. Instead of trying to undermine our democracy to cling to power, the legislature should focus on improving people's lives and winning elections fair and square. I am vetoing this anti-voter legislation, and I urge North Carolinians to call their legislators to ask them to uphold my veto. In our democracy, political power rests with you - the people. I intend to keep it that way," said Governor Josh Stein in a veto statement.

"This bill was never about election security," said North Carolina Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch. "It is about a party that is scared of its own voters. Luckily there are still elected officials still willing to work hard for you. That is what our fight on the floor was, and that is what this veto is."

"I'm here to tell you that your vote does matter, whether they want it to or not," said North Carolina House Democratic Leader Robert Reives. "The right to vote was fought for over decades, but the fight never ended. It just changed, and we are still in it. That's why I am proud to stand here with many of my colleagues and Governor Stein to show that we will stand strong for voting rights in North Carolina, because you deserve leaders who do.

"When legislation makes it harder to vote, creates uncertainty after Election Day, and expands opportunities to challenge lawful ballots, it does not strengthen democracy-it weakens public trust," said Reverend James Gailliard. "Election laws must put people above power. Today I offer an invitation: Help us build election laws your grandchildren will be proud to inherit."

"As a nation, as we discuss wanting to produce youth civic engagement, it cannot just be a talking point. It has to be an infrastructural investment," said Shia Rozier, a student at NC A&T. "Access to the polls is not a political issue, and democracy is something that we should be excited for, not something that we are continuously fighting for access to."

HB 958 is a direct attack on voter access and would undermine confidence that the will of the voters will be respected. The bill eliminates a week of early voting in primaries and allows challenges to early vote ballots up to three days after an election. Early voting has been the most popular way of voting in every general election in the past decade, and during this year's primary, North Carolina saw a record 200,000 people vote in the first week of early voting. The bill also empowers the State Auditor to continue his partisan interference in local election administration and expands the State Board's tools to purge voter rolls.

View Governor Stein's full remarks from today's event.