WUNC:

North Carolina’s top Republican lawmaker, Senate leader Phil Berger, said Wednesday he opposes some recommendations made by the North Carolina Board of Elections to make it easier to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elections executive director Karen Brinson Bell has proposed a number of changes, including eliminating the requirement that mail ballots be signed by two witnesses or a notary, or only requiring one witness. She says that would encourage social distancing.

And she has proposed making it easier for people to request mail ballots.

In an interview with WFAE, Berger said he’s concerned that if North Carolina loosens its laws on mail voting it could cause problems similar to the 9th Congressional District mail ballot scandal in 2018.

“I understand that some progressive, liberal Democratic groups would like to roll that back and put us back to where we were,” Berger said. “I’m afraid that’s where the elections director would take us with her proposals.”

It is worth recalling that the 9th District scandal involved ballot tampering done to help a Republican candidate.