Good legislative info from NC League of Women Voters. We've got lots of work to do, NC DU folks!

Cleat’s omnibus election bill
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Aug. 25, 2023 – The Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature finalized a far-reaching omnibus elections bill late last week that would end a grace period for counting mailed absentee ballots that had been in place since 2009, toughen same-day registration rules, and empower partisan observers at polling places.

This bill has significant support from the NC Election Integrity Team. NCEIT is a chapter of the Election Integrity Network, created by N.C.-based attorney Cleta Mitchell. Mitchell participated in the Jan. 2021 phone call Donald Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to search for nearly 12,000 votes that could help turn Trump's 2020 defeat into a victory.

The Elections Bill was passed on Aug. 17, sent to Gov. Roy Cooper on Aug. 18, and vetoed on Aug. 24. While we wait for the veto-override vote, it’s important to let voters know the important differences between the parties’ visions of the role of voters and of elections in our democracy beginning in January 2024.
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NC General Assembly is also considering several bills concerning education.
We sure don’t want to follow in Florida’s deadly footsteps.
🕊thatcrowwoman

HB 823/SB406 Choose Your School, Choose Your Future
“ This bill would make all NC K-12 students eligible for vouchers, with grant amounts based on household income, beginning in 2023-2024. It gets rid of the requirement that a student must be from a low-income household.
– Does not provide any accountability measures for private schools.
– Would divert millions of dollars to private schools, with no accountability to the State Board of Education.”

HB 219 Charter School Omnibus
“ – Allows charter schools to continue to expand, even with low-performance.
– Allows counties to appropriate property taxes to fund charter school capital needs.”

HB 618 Charter School Review Board
“ – Converts the Charter Schools Advisory Board to the Charter School Review Board.
– The North Carolina Constitution clearly gives the State Board of Education the oversight of public schools.
– Shifts the authority to approve charters from the State Board of Education to the Review Board.”

HB 574 Fairness in Women’s Sports
“ – Status: Vetoed by Governor Cooper but most likely the veto will be overridden.
– Mandates that middle and high school student athletes must play on teams in accordance with their sex assigned at birth regardless of their gender identity.
– A process already exists within the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for student athletes that wish to compete.
– Advances a false narrative around the issue.”

SB 49 Parents Bill of Rights
“ – Status: Vetoed by Governor Cooper; most likely the veto will be overridden or placed into the budget.
– Includes provisions that ban discussions on sexuality and gender identity in K-4th Grade in NC schools. Lack of education about reproductive health and sexuality raises concerns, especially for students who begin puberty at an early age.
– Requires school staff to tell parents if students change their name or pronoun and share mental health information. There is concern that it will put LGBTQ students at risk.
– Language is very broad and will be difficult to navigate at the school level.”

https://my.lwv.org/north-carolina-state/article/legislative-updates-lwvnc-part-2