North Carolina election board again makes it harder to vote by mail

Key Points:

• The GOP-controlled North Carolina State Board of Elections approved new rules making it harder for voters to cast and have mail ballots counted, requiring written attestations to fix envelope irregularities that were previously overlooked.
• Democrats on the board criticized the changes, arguing they create unnecessary hurdles and risk disenfranchising voters with disabilities, while also expressing concerns about voter confusion due to frequent changes in mail ballot instructions.
• Republicans defended the new rules, with some suggesting that voting in person on Election Day is the most secure method and downplaying concerns about voter confusion.
• The new rules follow other recent GOP-led changes, including lowering the threshold for rejecting forms from voters without photo ID, which Democrats say could lead to more ballot rejections.
• Voting advocates have opposed the new regulations, warning they could disproportionately impact voters who depend on mail voting.