House Bill 1169 Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the North Carolina House passed emergency election legislation which the North Carolina Senate this week. House Bill 1169 takes important steps to protect the safety and security of voting for voter and election workers. 

COVID-19 illustrates the need for voters to have a number of safe options to cast a vote. This bill includes a voter-friendly vote by mail system, in-person Early Voting with numerous sites and extended hours, and in-person Election Day voting that is not crowded.

Here is a breakdown of what is in the bill and what is not.

What HB 1169 Does

• Allows you to request an absentee ballot through a new online portal;

• Lowers the witness requirement to cast an absentee ballot from two to one;

• Provide funds for more and larger early-voting sites, more weekend hours, and PPE at all voting sites;

• Makes it easier for counties to recruit poll workers;

• Improves procedures for election officials and voters to track an absentee ballot;

• Prevents the 2020 election from being a mail-in ballot ONLY election;

• Allows the use of a public assistance photo ID

What HB 1169 Does Not Do

• Make Election Day a holiday to encourage voting and poll worker volunteering;

• Provide for postage-paid mail-in absentee ballots;

• Make it harder to vote early or by mail-in ballot.

Protecting the right to vote and promoting voter participation are critical for our democracy. While the bill that passed this week is a good first step, there are other steps we can take such as the ones in HB 1184 or SB 861.