A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate help america vote act (hava) and coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security (cares) act funds to the state board of elections for the 2020 general election in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated the sum of eleven million six hundred seventy‑seven thousand four hundred forty‑one dollars ($11,677,441) from federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds as awarded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, P.L. 116‑93, and the sum of two million three hundred thirty‑five thousand four hundred eighty‑eight dollars ($2,335,488) as the required match from the State General Fund to the State Board of Elections, Budget Code 28025, for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year. The State Board of Elections shall use these funds to:
(1)	Enhance and upgrade voting equipment and election auditing.
(2)	Improve the voter registration system and management.
(3)	Protect against cyber vulnerabilities.
(4)	Provide training and communication.
(5)	Assist with providing personal protective equipment and hiring temporary staff to process an increase in absentee ballot demands.
SECTION 1.(b)  Any federal HAVA funds unspent on June 30, 2021, shall revert to Budget Code 28025 and shall remain until appropriated by the General Assembly. Any remaining State match funds appropriated in this section shall revert in accordance with G.S. 143C‑1‑2.
SECTION 2.(a)  There is appropriated the sum of ten million nine hundred eighty‑seven thousand two hundred ninety‑five dollars ($10,987,295) in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116‑136, funds and the sum of two million one hundred twenty thousand four hundred ninety‑seven dollars ($2,120,497) as the required match from the State General Fund to the State Board of Elections, Budget Code 28025, for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year. The State Board of Elections shall use these funds to:
(1)	Increase the ability of voters to vote by mail or absentee ballot.
(2)	Expand early voting and online voter registration.
(3)	Improve safety of in‑person voting by providing personal protective equipment and additional voting facilities and hiring additional poll workers.
SECTION 2.(b)  Funds appropriated under this section shall be used in accordance with this section and the requirements and limitations set forth in the federal CARES Act.
SECTION 3.  Funds provided under this act may be used for special elections or applied to ballot recounts as permitted by federal law.
SECTION 4.  The State Board of Elections shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division on the use of the funds appropriated under this act no later than February 28, 2021.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to the 2020 federal election cycle.