Safeguard Fair Elections.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 392

Short Title: Safeguard Fair Elections. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Chaudhuri, Murdock, and Smith (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 25, 2025
*S392-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE IN CREASED PROTECTIONS FOR VOTERS AND ELECT IONS 2
OFFICIALS AGAINST VARIOUS FORMS OF INTERFERENCE WITH AN ELECTION 3
AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. VOTER PROTECTIONS AG AINST INTIMIDATION, THREATS, OR 7
COERCION 8
SECTION 1.1. Article 22 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by 9
adding the following new sections to read: 10
"§ 163-275.1. Voter intimidation, threats, or coercion. 11
(a) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply: 12
(1) Coerce. – To compel another person's conduct using force or threat of force, 13
whether that force is physical or economic, and is judged not in isolation but 14
in the context and background of contemporaneous events. 15
(2) Intimidate. – To willfully engage in conduct without legal purpose that would 16
cause a reasonable person to fear for the person 's safety or the safety of the 17
person's immediate family or close personal associates by placing the person 18
in fear of death, bodily injury, or continued harassment. 19
(3) Threaten. – To express an intention to harm another. 20
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who does any of the 21
following is guilty of a Class H felony: 22
(1) Threatens or attempts to threaten any person: 23
a. For voting or attempting to vote. 24
b. For voting or attempting to vote for or against a particular candidate. 25
c. For registering to vote. 26
d. For urging or aiding any individuals to vote or attempt ing to vote, as 27
allowed by law. 28
e. For exercising any lawful powers or duties as an election official or 29
enlisting another person to do the same. 30
For purposes of this section, a person shall be found to have threatened another 31
person if the person knew or reasonably should have known that his or her 32
actions would produce that effect. 33
(2) Knowingly challenge s a person 's right to vote on fraudulent or spurious 34
grounds. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 392-First Edition
(3) Engages in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of voters solely 1
for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to delay the process of 2
voting or the lawful and orderly administration of an election. 3
(4) Fraudulently advises any person that the person is not eligible to vote or is not 4
registered to vote when in fact that person is eligible or registered to vote. 5
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer, whether a cor poration or 6
natural person or any other person who employs , who shall, in paying its employees the salary 7
or wages due the employees, do any of the following shall be guilty of a Class H felony: 8
(1) Enclose the employees' pay in pay envelopes upon which or in which there is 9
written or printed the name of any candidate or any political mottoes, devices, 10
or arguments containing threats, express or implied, intended or calculated to 11
influence the political opinions or actions of the employees. 12
(2) In any way , express or implied , communicate that the employees ' pay or 13
continued employment is conditioned on voting or not voting, or voting or not 14
voting for a specific candidate. 15
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who intimidates or coerces 16
or attempts to intimidate or coerce any person for any of the following is guilty of a Class A1 17
misdemeanor: 18
(1) Voting or attempting to vote. 19
(2) Voting or attempting to vote for or against a particular candidate. 20
(3) Urging or aiding any persons to vote or attempt to vote, as allowed by law. 21
(4) Exercising any lawful powers or duties as an election official or enlisting 22
another person for the purpose of doing the same. 23
For purposes of this section, a person shall be found to have intimidated or coerced another 24
person if the person knew or reasonably should have known that his or her actions would produce 25
that effect. 26
"§ 163-275.2. Right of action. 27
Any person aggrieved by a violation of G.S. 163-275.1 may bring an act ion for preventive 28
relief, including an application in a district court for a permanent or temporary injunction, 29
restraining order, or other order. In any action commenced pursuant to this section, the court, in 30
its discretion, may allow the prevailing party reasonable attorneys' fees. 31
"§ 163-275.3. Restitution; Fund. 32
(a) In addition to any other fine or penalty imposed by this Article, the court may order 33
any person convicted of violating this Article to pay a restitution fine, the amount of which shall 34
be determined by the court and be commensurate with the seriousness of the offense. The moneys 35
derived from the fine assessed pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the Voter 36
Intimidation Restitution Fund created under subsection (b) of this section. 37
(b) The Voter Intimidation Restitution Fund (Fund) is hereby established in the State 38
treasury. Upon appropriation by the General Assembly, moneys in the Fund shall be allocated to 39
the State Board of Elections to be used in voter education camp aigns addressing the specific 40
crime committed by anyone convicted of violations of this Article. The funds shall also be used 41
for the administrative costs associated with distribution of the Fund." 42
43
PART II. ELECTION OFFICIAL AND POLL WORKER INTIMIDATION 44
SECTION 2.1. Article 22 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten: 45
"Article 22. 46
"Corrupt Practices and Other Offenses Against the Elective Franchise. 47
"Part 1. Criminal Penalties for Voter Interference. 48
… 49
"§ 163-278. Duty of investigating and prosecuting violations of this Article. 50
… 51
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Senate Bill 392-First Edition Page 3
(e) In addition to the penalties described under this Article, the State Board and the 1
district attorneys are authorized to investigate, prosecute, and seek increased penalties fo r a 2
person that intimidates, threatens, or coerces an election worker, as defined in G.S. 163-275.1, 3
engaged in performing official duties. 4
"Part 2. Election Administrator and Poll Worker Intimidation. 5
"§ 163 -278.1. Intimidation, threats, or coercion of election workers; cause of action; 6
penalties; immunity. 7
(a) Any person that intimidates, threa tens, coerces, as those terms are defined in 8
G.S. 163-275.1, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce an election worker with intent to 9
impede, intimidate, or interfere with the election worker's official duties is liable in civil damages 10
to the election worker for any injury or loss resulting from the intimidation, threats, or coercion. 11
For purposes of this section, an election worker is any individual who is an election official, poll 12
worker, or an election volunteer performing duties in connection with an election. 13
(b) Any person that violates subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than 14
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. 15
(c) An election worker acting in good fa ith to prevent election interference or preserve 16
ballot access in accordance with this section shall not incur liability." 17
18
PART III. DISQUALIFY ANY PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHO REFUSES TO CERT IFY 19
ELECTION 20
SECTION 3.1. Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 21
Article to read: 22
"Article 15B. 23
"Safeguard Fair Elections Act. 24
"§ 163-183. Short title. 25
This act shall be known as the "Safeguard Fair Elections Act." 26
"§ 163-183.1. Findings; purpose. 27
(a) The General Assembly makes the following findings: 28
(1) Following the 2020 election, anti -democratic extremists tried to get election 29
officials to lie about election results. In some cases, public officials either 30
hesitated or outright refused to accept plainly truthful election results. 31
(2) Scores of court cases and administrative challenges proved without doubt that 32
the 2020 election was counted correctly and that the candidates who were 33
certified as winners had fairly and honestly won. 34
(3) Those same extremists have made it clear that they are preparing an election 35
nullification strategy to implement in the near future, which is an outright 36
subversion of the American democratic system. 37
(4) Each public official, whether an elected official, a government employee, or 38
a volunteer empowered to take official action, has a sacred responsibility to 39
place loyalty to the Constitution, laws, and ethical principles above partisan 40
politics. 41
(5) Efforts to subvert vote counting and the recognition of elec tion winners are, 42
by definition, destructive to our system of democracy and the rule of law. 43
There can be no government "of, by and for the people " if officials are 44
dishonest about election results. 45
(b) The purpose of this act is to protect the democratic system and rule of law. 46
"§ 163-183.2. Definitions. 47
For purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply: 48
(1) Official act. – A decision or action where a public official is acting for or on 49
behalf of the State government or local government, or a ny branch of either 50
government. 51
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(2) Public official. – An individual legally authorized or permitted to execute laws 1
or make decisions on behalf of any government, including any branch, 2
subdivision, or agency of the State or any county, city, district, or other local 3
government. "Public official " includes, but is not limit ed to, elected and 4
appointed officials, government employees, and people who are officially 5
selected or acknowledged as acting on behalf of the government, such as 6
election judges and election poll workers. 7
(3) Substantial evidence. – Any relevant evidence that a reasonable person might 8
accept as adequate to support a conclusion. 9
"§ 163-183.3. Vote counting and election certification based on fact. 10
(a) No public official shall perform or communicate the intention to perform an official 11
act in which that official, without substantial evidence, refuses to certify the actual results or 12
count of an election. 13
(b) If any public official performs or communicates the intention to perform an official 14
act in violation of subsection (a) of this section, the performance or communication shall 15
constitute an automatic resignation from office and any official act in violation of subsection (a) 16
of this section considered null and void. 17
(c) A willful violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor, 18
punishable by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000). 19
(d) This section shall be enforced in addition to any other existing civil and criminal 20
penalties established under this Chapter." 21
SECTION 3.2. This Part is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections 22
held on or after that date. 23
24
PART IV. PROHIBITING THIRD-PARTY FORENSIC AUDIT 25
SECTION 4.1. G.S. 163-182.12A reads as rewritten: 26
"§ 163-182.12A. Post-election audits. 27
(a) After conducting a post -election audit for each election as required by this Chapter, 28
except for a general election, the State Board shall produce a report which summarizes the audit, 29
including the rationale for and the findings of the audit. After conducting a post -election audit 30
for a general election, the State Board shall produce a report which shall include all of the 31
following: 32
(1) A summary of the types of post -election audits required by law and the 33
requirements for conducting each of the audits. 34
(2) A summary of the results of each of the post -election audits described in 35
subdivision (1) of this subsection. 36
(3) A detailed description of each of the post -election audits described in 37
subdivision (1) of this subsection, including any issues that could have 38
affected the outcome of the election and the manner in which those issues 39
were resolved. 40
(4) A description of any systemic issues that were identified during th e 41
post-election audits and any recommendations on the manner in which those 42
issues should be addressed to ensure election security and integrity. 43
(5) The ways in which the public were allowed to observe and comment on the 44
conduct of the post-election audits, as authorized by law. 45
(6) Any other matters deemed appropriate by the State Board. 46
(a1) When conducting post-election audits, the State Board shall implement best practices 47
to ensure, at a minimum, each audit complies with the following: 48
(1) Is conducted by nonpartisan officials with expertise in elections. 49
(2) Is routine and conducted prior to State certification. 50
(3) Is transparent and open to the public. 51
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Senate Bill 392-First Edition Page 5
(4) Preserves the integrity of election systems and voting equipment. 1
(5) Preserves ballot secrecy and voter privacy. 2
(6) Is conducted according to statistically sound methodology. 3
(7) Requires that any State or county procedures governing audits be established 4
before Election Day and before results are known. 5
(a2) No public official shall provide funding for or participate in a post-election audit or 6
review that fails to comply with the best practices required by this section. 7
(b) Each report required by subsection (a) of this section shall be submitted to the Joint 8
Legislative Elections Ov ersight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on 9
General Government within 10 business days of the date the audit is completed." 10
SECTION 4.2. Article 15A of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by 11
adding a new section to read: 12
"§ 163-182.12B. Risk-limiting audits. 13
In addition to any other audits required under State or federal law , the State Board shall 14
conduct a risk-limiting audit after the general election in each county in accordance with 15
requirements established by the S tate Board. However, an audit conducted in accordance with 16
this section shall not change the results of an election. For purposes of this section, a 17
"risk-limiting audit" is a hand-to-eye recount of a randomly selected sample of ballots in a contest 18
that provides strong statistical evidence that the machine-counted results are correct and is based 19
on a "risk-limit"; the largest chance that an incorrect outcome of a contest could escape correction 20
by the audit." 21
22
PART V. PREVENT IMPEDIMENT/INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTION PROCESS 23
SECTION 5.1. G.S. 163-45.1 reads as rewritten: 24
"§ 163-45.1. Observers. 25
(a) For purposes of this section, "observer" is defined as an individual appointed pursuant 26
to this section to observe the voting process at a voting place. 27
(b) Observers may be appointed in accordance with the following: 28
(1) The chair of each political party in the county may designate two registered 29
voters of the county to serve as observers at each voting place in that county 30
in which the political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot. 31
(2) The chair of each political party in the county may designate up to 10 32
registered voters of the county to serve at any voting place in the county in 33
which the political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot. 34
(3) The chair of each political party in the State may designate up to 100 registered 35
voters of the State to serve at any voting place in the State in which the 36
political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot. 37
(4) An unaffiliated candidate or the unaffil iated candidate's campaign manager 38
may designate two observers to serve at each voting place in which that 39
unaffiliated candidate appears on the ballot. 40
(b1) Persons appointed as observers shall complete training before acting as an observer 41
and complete a dditional training at least once every two years, as applicable. The State Board 42
shall establish training standards and requirements for observers. 43
(c) The list of individuals appointed pursuant to this section shall be submitted 44
electronically or in writi ng by noon on the business day before each observer is scheduled to 45
serve. Individuals appointed to serve at a particular voting place or countywide shall be submitted 46
to the director of the county board of elections for that county. Individuals appointed to serve 47
statewide shall be submitted to the Executive Director of the State Board, who shall submit a 48
copy to each affected county board of elections. Before each voting place opens for voting, the 49
county board of elections shall provide a copy of the lis t of appointed observers for each voting 50
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place to the chief judge for that respective voting place, including any countywide or statewide 1
observers. 2
(d) The chief judge at each voting place may use reasonable methods to verify the identity 3
of individuals appearing at the voting place to serve as an observer. The State Board may shall 4
require an observer to wear an identification tag or badge to make voters and election officials 5
aware of the observer's role in the voting place. The tag or badge shall includ e the observer 's 6
name, role, and partisan affiliation. 7
(e) No more than three observers from the same political party shall be in the voting 8
enclosure at any time. Observers appointed to serve at a particular voting place may be relieved 9
during the day after serving no less than four hours. Observers appointed to serve countywide or 10
statewide may be relieved anytime throughout the day. Observers shall not appear on the ballot 11
as a candidate or serve as an election official in the primary or election in whic h the observer is 12
serving as an observer. Observers shall take no oath of office. 13
(f) The county board of elections or a chief judge of a voting place shall only challenge 14
the appointment of an observer pursuant to this section for good cause, which shall include 15
evidence that the observer could impact the conduct of the election. 16
(g) Election officials shall not prohibit an observer from doing any of the following, 17
provided that the observer does not interfere with the privacy of any voter or the conduct o f the 18
election: 19
(1) Taking notes in the voting place, including using an electronic device to take 20
notes. 21
(2) Listening to conversations between a voter and election official that take place 22
in the voting place, provided the conversation is related to elec tion 23
administration. 24
(3) Moving about the voting place, including the designated area for curbside 25
voting. 26
(4) Leaving and reentering the voting enclosure. 27
(5) Communicating via phone outside of the voting enclosure. 28
(6) Witnessing any opening and closing procedures at the voting place. 29
(h) Observers shall sign a sworn oath that the observer shall not do any of the following 30
inside the voting place: 31
(1) Look at, photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of any voter's 32
marked ballot. 33
(2) Impede the ingress or egress of any voter into the voting place. 34
(3) Inhibit or interfere with any election official in the performance of his or her 35
duties, including interfering with the transport of sealed ballot boxes, election 36
equipment, or election results to the county board of elections. 37
(4) Engage in electioneering. 38
(5) Make or receive phone calls while in the voting place. 39
(i) An observer may take photographs inside the voting place before the voting begins 40
and after voting has concluded, provided that t he taking of photographs does not impair any 41
election official in executing opening and closing procedures or compromise the security of 42
ballots, election equipment, or election results. The State Board shall adopt rules to implement 43
this subsection. 44
(j) A chief judge may remove an observer who engages in prohibited behavior under this 45
section. A chief judge may also remove an observer for good cause, which shall include evidence 46
that the observer could impact the conduct of the election. Whenever possible, the chief judge 47
shall first issue a verbal or written warning to the observer. The warning must include the time 48
and nature of the offense, and the chief judge must provide the observer a reasonable opportunity 49
to correct the behavior. If the chief judge determines the observer should be removed, the chief 50
judge must immediately notify the director of the county board of elections. The director of the 51
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Senate Bill 392-First Edition Page 7
county board of elections must immediately notify the appointing authority so that a replacement 1
observer can be appointed. Nothing in this section prohibits a chief judge from reporting an 2
alleged violation of State or federal law to the appropriate authority. 3
(k) The State Board shall develop a uniform process for all county boards of elections 4
and the State Board to implement for all of the following: 5
(1) The filing and hearing of challenges of the appointment of an observer 6
pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. 7
(2) The hearing of appeals on challenges of the appointment of an observer. 8
(3) The hearing of appeals on the removal of an observer from the voting place 9
pursuant to subsection (j) of this section. 10
(l) An observer may obtain copies of the list of persons who have voted at each voting 11
place during the times the voting place is open for voting. C ounties using an "authorization to 12
vote document" instead of pollbooks to indicate which persons have voted are in compliance 13
with this requirement if they allow observers to inspect election records so that the observer can 14
create a list of who has voted at each voting place. The State Board shall determine the times at 15
which these lists may be obtained. However, observers must be able to obtain copies of the list 16
at least three times each day with at least one hour between obtaining the copies." 17
SECTION 5 .2. During the conduct of elections, the State Board of Elections, in 18
collaboration with county boards of elections, shall do each of the following: 19
(1) Ensure election administrators are adequately compensated equitably 20
throughout the State to reduce attrition and loss of institutional knowledge. 21
(2) Ensure clear and conspicuous notices are placed at voting locations 22
establishing clear rights and responsibilities for voters, poll workers, and 23
observers. 24
(3) Develop a statewide, uniform system of reporting incidents of voter 25
intimidation anonymously. 26
27
PART VI. PROTECTING ELECTION OFFICIALS' PERSONALLY IDENTIFIA BLE 28
INFORMATION IN PUBLIC RECORDS 29
SECTION 6.1. G.S. 132-1.2 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 30
"(11) Reveals the personally identifiabl e information of precinct election officials 31
and the immediate family members of precinct election officials protected 32
under G.S. 163-49." 33
SECTION 6.2. Article 5 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by 34
adding a new section to read: 35
"§ 163-49. Protecting precinct election officials ' personally identifiable information in 36
public records. 37
(a) Notwithstanding any pro vision of law to the contrary, a precinct official may file 38
written notice with the State Board requesting that the precinct official and the precinct official's 39
immediate family, if applicable, be placed on a list prohibiting disclosure of personally 40
identifiable information in public records when the precinct official deems the official or the 41
official's immediate family is at risk of intimidation, threat, or coercion in response to official 42
election duties. For purposes of this section, "personally identifiable information" means any of 43
the following: 44
(1) A person's home address, home telephone number, personal mobile telephone 45
number, pager number, or personal email address. 46
(2) A photograph of a person. 47
(3) Directions to a person's home. 48
(4) A photograph or description of a person 's home, vehicle, or vehicle license 49
plate. 50
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(b) The State Board sh all develop a process and establish criteria for precinct officials 1
requesting nondisclosure of their personally identifiable information pursuant to this section. In 2
developing the process, the State Board shall provide a means to notify the appropriate county 3
boards of elections and other entities of the request." 4
5
PART VII. ALLOW JUDICIAL REVIEW IN CERTAIN CONTESTED RACES 6
SECTION 7.1. G.S. 163-182.13A(k) reads as rewritten: 7
"(k) General Assembly Determination Not Reviewable. – The Notwithstanding subsection 8
(j) of this section, the decision of the General Assembly in determining the contest of the election 9
pursuant to this section may not be reviewed by the General Court of Justice. If judicial review 10
is granted pursuant to thi s subse ction, the court shall issue findings of fact in making its 11
determination regarding whether the contestee is eligible and qualified or, if the contest is as to 12
the conduct or results of the election, which candidate received the highest number of votes." 13
14
PART VIII. SECURITY TRAINING FUNDS 15
SECTION 8.1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Auditor, 16
pursuant to Section 3A.2 of S.L. 2024-57, for the State Board of Elections the sum of two hundred 17
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in recurr ing funds for each year of the 2025 -2027 fiscal 18
biennium to provide biennial security training for election officials and their immediate family 19
members, as defined in G.S. 14-43.17. Security training shall include, at a minimum, each of the 20
following: 21
(1) Best practices for using social media and other forms of online engagement 22
and maintaining online privacy. 23
(2) Home security program and maintenance. 24
(3) Understanding removal programs and requirements for election officials' 25
personally identifiable information in accordance with Part VI of this act. 26
(4) Any other security training deemed relevant. 27
28
PART IX. NEW THREAT MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY FUNDS 29
SECTION 9.1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Auditor, 30
pursuant to Section 3A.2 of S.L. 2024-57, for the State Board of Elections the sum of two million 31
dollars ($2,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025 -2026 fiscal year to establish, in 32
coordination with the Department of Public Safety, as appropriate, a new threat management 33
capability for monitoring all-source information that shall do the following: 34
(1) Provide a threat monitoring and analysis capability for the protection of 35
election officials and their immediate family members, as applicable. 36
(2) Coordinate social media monitoring and threat assessments. 37
(3) Proactively manage the monitoring of websites for election officials' 38
personally identifiable information and report violations to the appropriate 39
law enforcement authorities. 40
(4) Maintain files of escalating behaviors and work in conjunction with the 41
appropriate law enforcement to counteract overt acts of aggression. 42
(5) Maintain a database of each election official to catalogue complaints, 43
including the name and other relevant personal information of the individual 44
or group of individuals engaging in direct or indirect threatening behavior. 45
(6) Coordinate complaints by election officials of all sources and other online 46
threats, whether direct or indirect, with law enforcement partners. 47
48
PART X. SEVERABILITY 49
SECTION 10.1. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the 50
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect 51
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without the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the provisions of this act are 1
severable. 2
3
PART XI. EFFECTIVE DATE 4
SECTION 11.1. Parts VIII and IX of this act become effective July 1, 2025. Except 5
as otherwise provided, the remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to 6
elections held on or after that date. 7