There is, or at least should be, more to election audits than simply determining if two sets of numbers match. Procedural audits, sometimes called “forensic,” “compliance,” or “performance” audits, review if election laws and procedures were followed, including voter registrations and ballot chain-of-custody. The body conducting the procedural audit should be housed outside the State Board of Elections, perhaps in the Office of the State Auditor.
Under North Carolina law, only the voter or a near relative can take possession of and deliver absentee ballots. That law protects voters from ballot trafficking (also called ballot harvesting), in which political operatives take control of their ballots.
A federal judge ruled in 2023 that anyone could take possession of a disabled person’s ballot. To protect disabled voters from election fraud, Multipartisan Assistance Teams (bipartisan volunteers who assist voters) should be authorized to deliver disabled voters’ ballots.
Partisan data, such as voter registration and election results, should not be used to draw legislative districts. Using racial data is not necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act and should not be used in redistricting because there is some correlation between racial and partisan data.
Freedom of speech is one of our most cherished rights and does not end just because that speech is conducted online. Government attempts to suppress online speech, either directly or through coopting social media companies, must be resisted. Another route of attack against speech is to restrict donor privacy, exposing supporters of some viewpoints to potential suppression.
Article VI, Section 4 of the North Carolina constitution states, “Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language.” That seemly innocuous sentence was used by election officials to prevent Black North Carolinians from voting after it was passed in 1899. It should be removed from the state constitution.