Waiting for election results 'breeds suspicious theories,' North Carolina lawmaker says

RALEIGH -- After stopping several members of the public from speaking about a controversial elections bill up for debate in a legislative committee Wednesday, Republican state lawmakers advanced the bill over Democrats’ objections.

The bill would change how mail-in voting works in future elections. Right now, any mail-in ballot that is postmarked by Election Day is counted as long as state officials receive it within three days of the election. That three-day grace period theoretically allows people who vote by mail to wait until Election Day to finalize their decisions, just like people who vote in person.

Republicans want to change that, citing concerns over the integrity of elections.

Senate Bill 326 would stop state officials from counting any mail-in ballots that come in after Election Day — even if they were mailed on time.

“Every day that passes after the election with uncertainty just causes distrust in the process,” Republican Sen. Warren Daniel of Morganton said. “Every day without a clear winner breeds suspicious theories in people’s minds, and that’s not healthy for the elections process.”

Read more: https://www.heraldsun.com/news/politics-government/article252003308.html
(Durham Herald Sun)