North Carolina House Republicans passed HB958, cutting early voting from 17 to 10 days and denying recourse to wrongly-purged voters

On August 4, 2026, the North Carolina House passed House Bill 958 in a 62-47 vote, with every Republican present in favor and every Democrat opposed. The bill cuts early voting in primaries, second primaries, and special elections from 17 days to 10, on the argument, made by Republicans, that turnout in those lower-turnout contests does not justify staffing polling sites for the full period. It also moves the deadline to challenge a ballot cast during early voting or by mail from the close of Election Day to the third business day after the election -- letting a candidate see preliminary results before deciding whether to file challenges aimed at getting votes thrown out. A third provision affects voters whose registrations are canceled because a federal database lists them as deceased: the bill gives them no way to prove the listing was a mistake and restore their registration.

Democratic Rep. Phil Rubin of Wake County told the House the deceased-voter database is known to be unreliable and that the bill's lack of any correction process "violates constitutional protections," warning it would produce litigation. He also said the extended ballot-challenge window invites what he called "the Griffin Rule" -- a reference to Jefferson Griffin, the Republican state Supreme Court candidate who challenged thousands of ballots after trailing in the 2024 race -- letting a losing candidate wait for preliminary results before filing strategic challenges. Democratic Rep. Abe Jones of Wake County objected that the bill, coming so close to the midterms, gave voters no time to absorb the changes.

As the House prepared to vote, protesters in the gallery chanted, "The people united will never be defeated," and were removed before the vote proceeded. The bill next goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who has said he opposes it.

Updates

2026-08-05 — Gov. Stein announced he will veto HB958 [3]

Stein wrote on social media that he would veto House Bill 958 "because it makes it harder for you to vote, introduces unnecessary chaos into our elections, and invites sore losers to try to overturn an election they lost." House Speaker Destin Hall said the House would not take up any votes, including a possible veto override, until lawmakers return in November -- after the bill's midterm-cycle provisions would otherwise have taken effect.