SB 916 — Safeguard Fair Elections Act.

FILED SENATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA JunSESSION 20,2021 2022S S.B.1 SENATE BILL 916 Short Title:

916 SESSION 2021 PRINCIPAL CLERK S D SENATE BILL DRS45583-LUa-105A Short Title:

Rules and Operations of the Senate June 21, 2022 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO PROVIDE INCREASED PROTECTIONS FOR VOTERS AND ELECTIONS OFFICIALS AGAINST VARIOUS FORMS OF INTERFERENCE WITH AN ELECTION AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.

*DRS45583-LUa-105A**S916-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (3) Engages in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of voters solely for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to delay the process of voting or the lawful and orderly administration of an election.

(1) Enclose the employees' pay in pay envelopes upon which or in which there is written or printed the name of anyanycandidate candidate or any political mottoes, devices, or arguments containing threats, express or implied, intended or calculated to influence the political opinions or actions of the employees.

For purposes of this section, a person shall be found to have intimidated or coerced another person if the person knew or reasonablyreasonablyshould should have known that his or her actions would produce that effect.

(a) In addition to any other fine or penalty imposed by this Article, the court may order any person convicted of violating this Article to pay a restitution fine, the amount of which shall bedetermined bybythe the courtand becommensurate with theseriousness ofoftheoffense. theoffense.

Page 2 DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (a) It shall be the duty of the State Board of Elections and the district attorneys to investigate anyanyviolations violations of this Article, and the State Board and district attorneys are authorized and empowered to subpoena and compel the attendance of any person before them for the purpose of making such investigation.

DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (5) Efforts to subvert vote counting and the recognition of election winners are, by definition, destructive to our system of democracy and the rule of law.

– Anindividual legallyauthorizedorpermittedlegallyauthorizedorpermittedto to executelaws or make decisions on behalf of any government, including any branch, subdivision, or agency of the State or any county, city, district, or other local government.

The report shall Page 4 DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 be submitted to the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government within 10 business days of the date the audit is completed." SECTION 4.2.

(a) The chair of each political party in the county shall have the right to designate two observers to attend each voting place at each primaryprimaryand and election and such observers may, at the option of the designating party chair, be relieved during the day of the primary or election after serving no less than four hours and provided the list required by this section to be filed by each chair contains the names of all persons authorized to represent such chair's political party.

Thelist submittedbysubmittedbythe the chairof thepolitical partypartymaybe maybe amended between theone-stop period under G.S.

In any election in which an unaffiliated candidateis namedonnamedontheballot, theballot, the candidateorthecandidate's campaign manager shall have the right to appoint two observers for each voting place consistent with the provisions specified herein.

on the fifth day prior to any primary or general election, submit in writing to the chair of the county board of elections two signed copies of a list of observers appointed by them, designating the DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 precinct or at-large status for which each observer is appointed.

(d) Whether or not the observer attends to the polls for the requisite time provided bybythis this section, each observer shall be entitled to obtain at times specified by the State Board of Elections, but not less than three times during election day with the spacing not less than one hourapart, alist ofthepersonswhohavevotedin theprecinct so farin that election day.day.Counties that use an "authorization to vote document" instead of poll books may comply with the requirement in the previous sentence by permitting each observer to inspect election records so that the observer may create a list of persons who have voted in the precinct so far that election day;

Counties that use an "authorization to vote document" instead of poll books may comply with the requirement in the previous sentence by permitting each observer to inspect election records so that the observer may create a list of persons who have voted in the precinct so far that election day;

Instead of having an observer receive the votingvotinglist, list, the countycountypartychair partymaysend chair may send a runner to do so, even if an observer has not been appointed for that precinct.

The runner may be the precinct partypartychair chair or anyanyperson person named bybythe thecountypartychair. county party chair.

Each countycountypartychair party chair using runners in an election shall provide to the county board of elections before 10:00 A.M.

on the fifth daydaybefore before election daydaya a list of the runners to be used.

That party chair must notifynotifythe the chair of the county board of elections or the board chair's designee of the names of all runners to be used in each precinct before the runner goes to the precinct.

No runner may enter the voting enclosure except when necessarynecessaryto to announce that runner's presence and to receive the list.

Page 6 DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 PART VI.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a precinct official may file written notice with the State Board of Elections requesting that the precinct official and the precinct official's immediate family, if applicable, be placed on a list prohibiting disclosure of personallypersonallyidentifiable identifiable information in public records when the precinct official deems the official or the official's immediate family is at risk of intimidation, threat, or coercion in response to official election duties.

DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (5) Maintain a database of each election official to catalogue complaints, including the name and other relevant personal information of the individual or group of individuals engaging in direct or indirect threatening behavior.

Page 8 DRS45583-LUa-105ASenate Bill 916-First Edition