2026-09-17T10:00:29.458Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/17/politics/north-carolina-senate-midterms-voting-rules-election-integrity
北卡罗来纳州历来以势均力敌的选举著称。共和党推出的一系列改革举措可能对今年的中期选举产生关键影响，其中包括一场被民主党视为夺席良机的重量级参议院席位角逐。
自2024年大选以来，该州大幅缩减了周日投票时间，对邮寄选票的处理流程施加了新限制，并在州议会剥夺民主党州长的选举管理权后，将选举委员会的控制权交到了共和党手中。
唐纳德·特朗普总统及其盟友正在发起一场全面运动，试图重塑今年中期选举的运作方式。尽管特朗普的多项联邦提案——包括《拯救美国法案》以及一项关于选票寄送的行政命令——今年秋季都无法推进，但北卡罗来纳州是少数几个修改了选举规则、令民主党和左翼维权人士担忧的州之一。
“新近重组并由共和党主导的州选举委员会发起了一场压制众多北卡罗来纳州选民投票权的运动，”前州长罗伊·库珀的发言人萨姆·陈在一份声明中表示。库珀正在与共和党人迈克尔·沃特利竞争即将退休的共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯空出的席位。
政治观察人士表示，哪怕是影响党派投票率的微小变动，都可能决定多场选举的结果——从多场竞争激烈的美国众议院席位角逐、一场高风险的州最高法院选举，到更多地方层面的选举，这些都将决定共和党能否保住州参议院的超级多数席位。
去年，民主党现任州最高法院大法官艾莉森·里格斯与北卡罗来纳州上诉法院法官、共和党人杰斐逊·格里芬之间的前一届州最高法院席位选举拉锯了六个月，直到格里格斯最终认输。
里格斯仅以734票的微弱优势保住席位。
两年前，希亚·罗齐尔从北卡罗来纳农业与技术州立大学的宿舍走到校园内的投票点投票参与总统选举，只花了约7分钟。她说，今年大多数学生最近的早期投票点步行需要45分钟。
“我认为他们（反对者）感到害怕，”罗齐尔在谈及选举规则修改时表示，“如果我们大批选民前去投票，一些人的席位就岌岌可危，他们正试图消除这种可能性。”
共和党对批评之声进行了反驳，称北卡罗来纳州的选民今年秋季将拥有创纪录数量的早期投票点，并有充足的机会在中期选举中投票。
“我们不同意将合理的选举保障措施和行政决策等同于选民压制的说法，”北卡罗来纳州共和党在一份声明中表示。
“我们在北卡罗来纳州看到的是一群愤怒的民主党人，他们不喜欢共和党现在掌握了部分选举管理权，”达拉斯·伍德豪斯说道。他曾担任该州共和党执行主任，参与过州审计署办公室早期投票规则的制定工作。
北卡罗来纳州选举委员会在各郡开始邮寄缺席选票前数小时做出了最新一项举措。
该委员会于9月4日投票决定，指示选举官员不得计算内信封未密封的缺席选票。委员会还规定，除近亲属和法定监护人外，其他人不得代大多数选民投递邮寄选票。
如果选民无法补正选票的瑕疵，该选票将被“作废”或取消，并重新发放新选票。批评人士称，这将导致选票因技术性理由被驳回。
共和党表示，他们此举是为了保障选举的公正性。
“这是一个选票安全问题，旨在确保选民的意愿和意图得到贯彻落实，”共和党籍委员会成员斯泰西·“Four”·埃格斯在投票前说道 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2026-09-02/Continuation%20of%20Meeting%2C%20held%20Sep.%204%2C%202026.mp4。
在2024年大选中，北卡罗来纳州570万选民中仅有约5%通过邮寄方式投票。但州数据显示，民主党选民比共和党选民更倾向于使用邮寄投票方式。
根据选举记录，截至本周二，在67990张邮寄缺席选票中，民主党选民申请了约42%，共和党选民申请了略高于17%，无党派选民申请了约40%。
北卡罗来纳州民主党州长乔希·斯坦在一份声明中称，委员会的缺席选票指令“是对选民的公然侮辱”。
州选举委员会发言人杰森·泰森表示，“州长当然有权表达自己的看法”，但他表示州委员会的重点是帮助各郡选举官员，并确保“我们的选举安全可靠”。
在北卡罗来纳州第一国会选区，民主党众议员唐·戴维斯已经面临一场艰难的连任之战，因为州议员重新划定了国会选区地图，将该选区变成了对共和党更友好的选区。
根据西卡罗莱纳大学政治科学家克里斯托弗·库珀的分析，该选区所有郡今年都取消了周日投票。
全州范围内的早期投票时间和地点都进行了调整。库珀的分析发现，今年仅有17个郡允许周日进行早期投票，而2022年中期选举时这一数字为40个。
州官员指出，早期投票点的数量已增至创纪录的367个，高于2022年中期选举的359个。
各郡选举委员会成员在取消周日投票选项时辩称，这些时段的投票率未得到充分利用，或者会加剧有限资源的紧张状况。至少有一名共和党议员援引了宗教反对理由。
“设立周日投票，就是要求人们在主日工作，我确实认为国家的兴衰将取决于我们如何对待上帝，”马特·朗沃思说道。他是夏洛特东南部农村地区安森县选举委员会的共和党成员。
人口普查数据显示，安森县约45%的适龄投票人口为黑人。
北卡罗来纳州黑人联盟执行董事马库斯·巴斯表示，全州范围内大范围取消周日投票“是对黑人选民的蓄意攻击”。该联盟一直在协助各团体组织“灵魂前往投票站”活动。
他说，在取消周日投票的郡，宗教社区正在筹备其他投票动员活动，包括鼓励选民参加周三晚上的圣经学习聚会时顺便投票。
传统上，北卡罗来纳州的州长所在政党掌控着选举管理权。
但在2024年大选后的跛脚鸭立法会议期间，州议会共和党人凭借当时的推翻否决权多数席位，剥夺了即将上任的州长斯坦任命北卡罗来纳州五人州选举委员会成员的权力。州议会将这一权力移交给了州审计戴夫·博利克——一名共和党人，其职责是监督北卡罗来纳州的财政状况。
通过博利克的任命权，共和党如今还控制了该州100个郡选举委员会的多数席位，而此前多年州和地方层面的选举委员会均由民主党占据多数。（本周三，州上诉法院以2比1的投票结果维持了州议会剥夺斯坦任命权的决定。）
今年早些时候，据郡选举委员会会议纪要和当地新闻报道，北卡罗来纳州西部杰克逊县选举委员会共和党主席比尔·汤普森公开表示，他感受到了审计署办公室的“压力”，要求他否决在西卡罗莱纳大学校园内设置早期投票点的计划，转而支持在社区娱乐中心设置投票点。
曾任州共和党执行主任的伍德豪斯今年早些时候从审计署办公室辞职，此前有多次披露显示，他曾向地方共和党选举委员会成员就早期投票点的位置和日期提供具体指导。
例如，在杰克逊县的案例中，美国左翼政府监督组织“美国监督”获取的短信显示，伍德豪斯敦促汤普森“坚定立场”，反对以牺牲娱乐中心为代价增设西卡罗莱纳大学校园内的投票点。
伍德豪斯在短信中辩称，校园投票点是新设的，未经考验，会给11月的选举带来“陌生感和不确定性”。
在郡一级层面，汤普森是唯一一名反对校园投票点方案的投票者。（最终，负责解决郡选举委员会成员在早期投票程序上分歧的州委员会批准了娱乐中心和校园两个投票点。）
伍德豪斯表示，他一直在努力保留为期17天的充足早期投票机会，同时寻求在各郡广泛分布投票点。
“民主党委员会掌权太久了，我们希望确保农村和郊区选民也能获得充足的投票机会，”他说，“这显然可能符合党派利益，但共和党人也有投票的权利。”
州审计署发言人兰迪·布雷奇比尔称，对该办公室行动的批评“是党派性的政治噪音”。
“北卡罗来纳州民众对本州的选举充满信心，2026年的早期投票点和早期投票时长都比2022年上一次类似的中期选举更多，”他在一封电子邮件中说道。
自2019年起担任州选举委员会成员的民主党人杰夫·卡蒙表示，州审计署办公室对超本地选举决策的介入“造成了不当行为的表象”。
“我从未见过任命机构有过这种程度的介入，”他说。
一整年以来，北卡罗来纳农业与技术州立大学——该州最大的黑人历史院校——的学生们一直在前往州和郡选举委员会会议，呼吁在校园内设置早期投票点。
在郡一级层面，吉尔福德县选举委员会五名成员中的四名（包括一名民主党人）批准了不包含校园投票点的方案。州委员会确认了这一决定。
选举官员表示，中期选举期间校园内从未设置过早期投票点，因此从技术上讲，学生们的投票权并未被削减。
但领导这场运动的学生之一罗齐尔认为，过去中期选举的做法不应决定今年秋季的选举规则。
22岁的罗齐尔说，她和“保护我们北卡”学生团体的其他成员不会因投票受阻而放弃今年秋季投票。他们目前正在为10月15日开始的早期投票筹集资金，计划租用穿梭巴士接送学生前往最近的投票点。
“不投票，我们就无法改变投票相关的现状，”罗齐尔说道。
CNN的黛安·加拉格尔和蕾妮·里格登为本报道贡献了内容。
How the Republican push to change voting rules in a key state could hurt Democrats in the midterms
2026-09-17T10:00:29.458Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/17/politics/north-carolina-senate-midterms-voting-rules-election-integrity
North Carolina has a history of nail-biter elections. And a series of changes enacted by Republicans could be critical in this year’s midterms, including in a marquee Senate race viewed by Democrats as a pickup opportunity.
Since the 2024 election, the state has sharply curtailed Sunday voting, imposed new restrictions on how mail-in ballots are processed, and placed Republicans in control of elections boards after the legislature stripped power from the Democratic governor.
President Donald Trump and his allies are mounting a sweeping campaign that attempts to reshape how this year’s midterm elections are conducted. While many of Trump’s federal proposals – including the SAVE America Act and an executive order on which ballots will be delivered – won’t move forward this fall, North Carolina is among the states that have changed its elections in ways that worry Democrats and left-leaning advocates.
“The newly reconstituted and Republican-dominated State Board of Elections has waged a campaign to silence many North Carolinians at the ballot box,” Sam Chan, a spokesperson for former Gov. Roy Cooper, said in a statement. Cooper is running against Republican Michael Whatley for the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.
Political observers say even small changes that affect partisan turnout could help decide contests – from a pair of competitive US House races and a high-stakes state Supreme Court election to more local battles that will determine whether Republicans retain their supermajority in the state Senate.
A fight over the outcome of a previous state Supreme Court race between Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs and North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican, dragged on for six months before Griffin conceded last year.
Riggs retained the seat by just 734 votes.
Two years ago, Shia Rozier says it took her about seven minutes to walk from her dorm room at North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University to a polling place on the school’s campus to cast a ballot in the presidential race. This year, she said, the closest early voting location for most students is a 45-minute walk away.
“I think they’re scared,” Rozier said of opponents. “If we do go vote in numbers, I think some people’s seats will be up for grabs, and they’re trying to eliminate that.”
Republicans have pushed back on the criticism, saying voters in North Carolina will have a record number of early voting locations this fall and ample opportunities to cast their ballots in the midterms.
“We disagree with the characterization that reasonable election safeguards and administrative decisions amount to voter suppression,” the North Carolina state GOP said in a statement.
“What we’ve seen in North Carolina is a bunch of angry Democrats who don’t like that Republicans now have a part of election governance,” said Dallas Woodhouse, a former executive director of the state’s Republican Party who was involved in shaping early voting rules at the state auditor’s office.
North Carolina’s state elections board made its last move just hours before counties started sending out absentee ballots.
It voted on September 4 to direct election officials not to count absentee ballots returned with the inner envelope unsealed. The board also limited to “near relatives” and legal guardians the people allowed to drop off a mail ballot on behalf of most voters.
If a voter cannot correct deficiencies with a ballot, it will be “spoiled,” or canceled, and a new one reissued. Critics say that will lead to votes being tossed out on technical grounds.
Republicans said they acted to guarantee the election’s integrity.
“It’s a ballot security issue to make sure that the voter’s will and intent is being followed through,” one of the GOP board members, Stacy “Four” Eggers, said before the vote https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2026-09-02/Continuation%20of%20Meeting%2C%20held%20Sep.%204%2C%202026.mp4.
Only about 5% of the 5.7 million North Carolinians who cast ballots in the 2024 general election voted by mail. But Democrats in the state are more likely to use the method than Republicans are, state data show.
As of Tuesday, Democrats had requested roughly 42% of the 67,990 absentee-by-mail ballots, according to election records. A little more than 17% went to Republicans, and about 40% to unaffiliated voters.
In a statement, North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Josh Stein called the board’s absentee ballot directive “a slap in the face to voters.”
Jason Tyson, a spokesman for the state elections board, said it’s “certainly within the governor’s purview and auspices to make his feelings known” but he said the state board is focused on helping county officials and ensuring “our elections are secure.”
In North Carolina’s 1st District, Democratic Rep. Don Davis already faces an uphill reelection battle after state lawmakers redrew the congressional map to create a more GOP-friendly seat.
Now, there’s no Sunday voting in any county in the district, according to an analysis by Christopher Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University.
Hours and locations for early voting have shifted around the state. Just 17 counties will allow early voting on Sundays this year, down from 40 in 2022, Cooper’s analysis found.
State officials note the number of early voting sites available has grown to a record 367 for a midterm election and up from 359 during the 2022 midterms.
In eliminating Sunday voting options, county election board members argued that those hours were underutilized or strained limited resources. At least one Republican cited religious objections.
“By having Sunday voting, we are requiring people to work on the Lord’s Day, and I do believe that the downfall of this country will be contingent on what we do with God,” said Matt Longworth, a Republican who serves on the election board in rural Anson County, southeast of Charlotte.
Roughly 45% of Anson County’s voting-age population is Black, Census figures show.
The widespread rollback of Sunday voting across the state “spells an intentional assault on the Black vote,” said Marcus Bass, executive director of the North Carolina Black Alliance, which has helped groups organize Souls to the Polls events.
In counties without Sunday voting, he said, faith communities are working on other opportunities, including encouraging voting tied to Wednesday night gatherings for Bible study.
Traditionally in North Carolina, the governor’s party has held the reins on election administration.
But in a lame-duck session after the 2024 election, Republicans in the state legislature used their-then veto-proof majority to strip Stein, the incoming governor, of the power to appoint members of North Carolina’s five-member state elections board. The legislature transferred that authority to state Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican whose job is to monitor North Carolina’s finances.
Republicans, through Boliek’s appointing authority, now also control the majorities on each of North Carolina’s 100 county election boards after years of Democratic majorities at the state and local level. (On Wednesday, a state appellate court ruled 2-1 to uphold the legislature’s decision to strip Stein of the appointment powers.)
Earlier this year, Bill Thompson, the Republican chairman of the Jackson County Election Board in western North Carolina, said publicly that he felt “pressure” from the auditor’s office to reject a plan for an early voting site on the campus of Western Carolina University in favor of one at a community recreation center, according to minutes of the board meeting and local news coverage.
Woodhouse, the former state Republican Party executive director, resigned from the auditor’s office earlier this year, following multiple disclosures of him giving specific guidance to local Republican board members on early voting locations and days.
In the case of Jackson County, for instance, Woodhouse urged Thompson to “stand strong” against efforts to add the voting location on the Western Carolina campus at the expense of the rec center, according to text messages obtained by American Oversight, a left-leaning government watchdog group.
The campus polling location, Woodhouse argued in his texts, was new and untested and would introduce “unfamiliarity and uncertainty” into the November election.
At the county level, Thompson was the sole “no” vote against the campus location. (In the end, the state board, which resolves any disagreements among county board members on early voting procedures, signed off on both the rec center and the campus sites.)
Woodhouse said he worked hard to preserve generous access to early voting, which runs for 17 days, while also seeking to spread voting locations throughout counties.
“The Democrat boards have been in charge for so long, we wanted to make sure rural and suburban voters were also getting ample opportunities,” he said. “That obviously coincided with potential partisan interests, but Republicans have a right to vote, too.”
Randy Brechbiel, a spokesman for the auditor, called the criticism of the office’s actions “partisan, political noise.”
“North Carolinians are highly confident in our state’s elections, and there are more early voting sites and more early voting hours in 2026 than the last comparable midterm election in 2022,” he said in an email.
Jeff Carmon, a Democrat who has served on the state elections board since 2019, said the participation of the state auditor’s office in hyper-local election decisions “creates the appearance of impropriety.”
“I’ve never seen this kind of involvement from the appointing authority,” he said.
All year long, students from North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University, the largest historically Black college in the state, have trekked to state and county election board meetings to advocate for an early voting location on campus.
At the county level, four of the five Guilford County Election Board members, including a Democrat, approved a plan that did not include the campus site. The state board affirmed that decision.
Election officials say there’s no history of early voting on the campus during midterm elections, so students technically have not seen their voting access curtailed.
But Rozier, one of the students leading the campaign, argued that practices in past midterms shouldn’t govern what happens in this fall’s election.
Rozier, 22, said she and others active in a student group called Protect Ours NC won’t be deterred from voting this fall. They are now raising funds ahead of the October 15 start of early voting to hire shuttle buses to ferry students to the nearest polling place.
“We won’t be able to make changes around voting without voting,” Rozier said.
CNN’s Dianne Gallagher and Renee Rigdon contributed to this report.
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