RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are looking again at changing the rules on early voting, a popular idea which has prompted legal action.
A House committee voted Thursday to change the 17-day early-voting schedule and require more consistent voting times during that period.
The proposal would end the early-voting period statewide on the Friday evening before a primary or election day. Currently counties must offer voting until the Saturday afternoon before the election. Counties also would have to open all of their early voting sites from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and be required to keep uniform hours if sites are open on weekends.
The legislature passed an election law in 2013 reducing the number of early-voting days from 17 to 10, but federal courts struck that down, citing racial bias.