THE CASH STUFF FOR MAY 28, 2026

 REPUBLICANS FILE BILL 

TO REDUCE EARLY 

VOTING FROM 17 TO 10

DAYS THIS ELECTION

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Knowing that by all projections, November’s midterm general election is expected to be a windfall for Democrats nationally and here in North Carolina, Republicans have filed two bills in the NC General Assembly that, if ratified by both chambers, would slice the number of early voting days from the current 17, to just 6-10 days before the November 3rd Election Day.

One bill (HB66) would cut out any early voting on at least two consecutive Sundays, which is historically popular for African-Americans who normally vote “Souls to the Polls” after attending church in their communities across the state in many counties.

“Not earlier than the second Monday before an election in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday before that election (which would be Monday, October 26 to Saturday, October 31st), the voter may appear in person only at the office of the county board of elections….,” is the language of the proposed state House legislation. “A county board of elections shall conduct early voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M."

Sponsored by 22-year-old Republican State House Rep. Wyatt Gable (R-Onslow), an East Carolina University student and the youngest state representative in history, HB 66 would become law immediately upon passage, meaning that it would drastically cut the in-person early voting period for the upcoming November general elections.

Under current state law, this year early voting begins on the third Thursday of October (Oct. 22), and doesn’t end until the last Saturday (Oct. 31st) before the first Tuesday of November, which is normally when the general election takes place.

That was the early voting timeline in 2024 when, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections, out of the 5.7 million North Carolinians who voted then, 4,223,734 vote early statewide, with 62,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats casting early ballots.

As of May 16th, there were 7,768, 375 registered voters in North Carolina, according to the NC State Board of Elections.

The second measure seeking to cut early voting days is Senate Bill 1084, sponsored by Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Morganton), chair of the Senate Elections Committee.

The language of Sen. Daniel’s legislature states, “Not earlier than the second Thursday (October 22) before an election in which a voter seeks to vote and not later than 3:00 P.M. on the last Saturday (October 31) before that election, the voter may appear in person only at the office of the county board. A county board shall conduct early voting on the last Saturday before the election from 8:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M." 

Daniel’s bill would allow one Sunday of early voting before the general election.

As per Rep. Gable’s HB 66, Sen. Daniel’s SB 1084, “…is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.”

Republican legislative leadership is fully in support of the measures seeking to reduce early voting.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger said, “I hear a lot of complaints from both Republicans and Democrats about the number, particularly those that have to work the elections. Hopefully we can get some consensus around that for the primaries. I think we need to reduce the number of days in the general as well, but obviously it’s likely to face even more opposition.” 

Republican House Speaker Destin Hall also expressed his support.

Not so with Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Durham), who told reporters last week that the bills target African-Americans.

“It is clear that if they don’t think folks are going to vote for them, they want to make it more difficult for them to vote,” she said.

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