skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Witness Requirement Creates Barriers for Mail-In Voters, Critics Say

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 14, 2020   

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Civil rights groups says a new election-reform law doesn't go far enough to ensure the absentee ballot voting process is accessible to everyone.

In June, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill into law that boosts funding to counties to help streamline the absentee-voting process for residents this fall, including a requirement that a website be created for online absentee ballot requests by September 1.

Jerusalem Demsas, national press secretary with the Democratic Governors Association, said the law takes two main actions; the first strips away a web of regulations surrounding vote-by-mail.

"And the second is allocating funding to state and county boards of elections to make it easier for them to put in practice their own safeguards so that it's easier to vote," Demsas said.

Traditionally, North Carolina has required absentee ballot voters to have two witnesses sign their ballot envelope. The new bill says just one witness will suffice for the 2020 election.

However the ACLU has filed a lawsuit against this requirement, arguing that in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the one-witness mandate places an unnecessary burden on voters.

Residents can still vote in-person on November 3 if they choose. But Demsas noted the state is working to improve security and upgrade equipment amid expectations that the demand for absentee ballots could be historically high.

The legislation calls for the creation of a bar code or other unique identifier to allow both county boards of elections and voters to track the status of mailed-in ballots.

"There are some estimates that this year, 20% or even more of North Carolinians will be trying to vote absentee; which is much higher than in previous years," she said. "It's usually, I think, in the single digits. So, we're seeing a massive uptick."

The law also requires the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Board of Elections to develop guidelines to safely allow election workers to assist registered voters within hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other congregate living situations.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021