Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina House of Representatives voted to override two more vetoes by Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday, bringing the total veto override count of the 2017-2018 legislative biennium to thirteen.
Senate Bill 486 The Elections Security and Transparency Act tightens election security laws to protect against the threat of outside influence and Senate Bill 757 Various Court Districts Changes makes changes to judicial districts in four counties.
S.B. 486 protects the state’s elections from outside interference by implementing key security measures suggested by the bipartisan NC State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. It requires criminal record checks for election officials with access to sensitive materials, and forbids any voting system used in an election to be connected to an accessible network.
“This bill provides for crucial elections security measures in advance of the critical November elections,” said state Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), chairman of the House Committee on Elections and Ethics Law.
“Overriding this veto is the only chance to protect our ballot boxes from foreign and domestic hacking threats this year.”
The legislation also prohibits a new party from selecting a candidate who was on a primary ballot in that year for another party and lost.
S.B. 757 makes changes to Superior Court districts in Mecklenburg, Pender and New Hanover counties and makes changes to District Court districts in Mecklenburg and Wake counties starting in 2019.
“It’s past time to correct the unbalanced populations of the election districts in some of our state’s largest judicial districts and provide voters an equal voice in the election of their judges,” said Rep. Justin Burr (R-Stanly).
“These changes incorporate over 12 months of work, public input and expert feedback to ensure election districts have proportional populations that provide the people fair and constitutional districts for selecting judges.”
Previous Veto Overrides by the N.C. General Assembly 2017-2018
Senate Bill 99, Appropriations Act of 2018 (Veto Overridden 6/12/2018)
Senate Bill 656, Electoral Freedom Act of 2017 (Veto Overridden 10/17/2017)
House Bill 56, Amend Environmental Laws (Veto Overridden 10/14/2017)
House Bill 770, Various Clarifying Changes (Veto Overridden 8/30/2017)
Senate Bill 16, Business Regulatory Reform Act of 2017 (Veto Overridden 10/5/2017)
House Bill 140, Dental Plans Provider Contracts, Transparency (Veto Overridden 8/30/2017)
Senate Bill 257, Appropriations Act of 2017 (Veto Overridden 6/28/2017)
House Bill 467, Agriculture and Forestry Nuisance Remedies (Veto Overridden 5/11/2017)
House Bill 239, Reduce Court of Appeals to 12 Judges (Veto Overridden 4/26/2017
Senate Bill 68, Bipartisan Bd. Of Elections and Ethics Enforce (Veto Overridden 4/25/2017)
House Bill 100, Restore Partisan Elections/Sup. & Dist. Court (Veto Overridden 3/23/2017)