Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee Chairman Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Burke) released the following statement on Gov. Cooper's intent to veto Senate Bill 747:

"When North Carolina voters vote, democracy wins. That's why we are creating a secure election system that makes it easy to vote and protects election integrity. But Gov. Cooper wants his handpicked partisans running our elections and he apparently feels threatened by North Carolinians observing what happens in their polling places. North Carolina is not a third-world dictatorship, no matter how hard Gov. Cooper tries to make it one. We have an open democracy. By overriding this veto, we'll guarantee every citizen's right to vote with confidence in the security of our elections."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 30 other states have an absentee ballot acceptance deadline on or before Election Day, including Delaware, Colorado, Maine, and Rhode Island. Polling shows that North Carolinians support making Election Day the deadline for accepting mail-in ballots by nearly a two-to-one margin.