I recently wrote about House Bill 967, a bill advancing in the General Assembly that would regulate voter behavior at polling places and protect political signs outside those locations from theft or vandalism.
Another bill moving forward in the legislature would regulate the behavior of election officials, specifically, voting place officials who fail to do their duties. House Bill 85, “Removal of Precinct Officials,” is sponsored by representatives Keith Kidwell (R – Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico), Ben Moss, Jr (R – Moore, Richmond), Bill Ward (R – Camden, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank), and Diane Wheatley (R – Cumberland).
Removal for “incompetency or failure to discharge the duties of office”
The heart of HB 85 is a new subsection, which reads:
Any precinct official may be removed from office, including on the day of the election or primary, for incompetency or failure to discharge the duties of office by the county board in accordance with G.S. 163-33. The county board may prohibit a precinct official who has been removed from office from serving as a precinct official in any subsequent election.
G.S. 163-33 details the powers and duties of county boards of elections, including the appointment of precinct officials and investigation of “irregularities, nonperformance of duties, and violations of laws
by election officers and other persons.”
In essence, the bill provides county officials with the legal (as opposed to administrative) duty and means to remove nonperforming election officials.
Another part of the bill prevents election boards from hiring any person removed under the new law “from serving as a precinct official in any subsequent election.”
The bill is not all sticks. It also provides a carrot in the form of more detailed instructions for precinct worker training, including “the potential for removal from office for failure to comply with all provisions of this Chapter.”
More cosponsoring with a bit of political courage
I wrote in my review of HB 987 that the bill had an unexpected cosponsor:
So it was a bit of a surprise to see Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) listed as one of the cosponsors on Cotham’s bill. North Carolina’s Democratic Party is known for punishing legislators who cooperate with Republicans.
Harrison is at it again. She is also a cosponsor of HB 85, the only Democrat with her name on the bill. As previously noted, Harrison is in the left wing of the Democratic Party, which may give her some political coverage for working across the aisle that more moderate party members might not have.
Or she might just be willing to support a good bill no matter where it comes from.
As with the bill regulating voter behavior in polling places, this bill regulating election official behavior will hopefully help keep decorum in voting areas.
