Josh Stein

Gas prices in Charlotte and across North Carolina are starting to drop after Governor Josh Stein signed a bill suspending the state's gas tax, cutting 41 cents per gallon from gas and diesel prices. The move responds to fuel price spikes tied to tensions following a U.S. attack on Iran, as officials cited the rising cost of living for North Carolinians.

The suspension runs through November 30 and could cost the state more than $350 million in revenue that would otherwise fund NCDOT road projects. Economists caution it may take up to two weeks for drivers to see the full effect at the pump, and savings may only amount to a few dollars a week for the average driver since gas stations aren't required to lower prices on fuel they've already paid taxes on. The N.C. Department of Revenue will audit tax filings but will not enforce pump prices. State lawmakers, including House Speaker Destin Hall, praised the measure as relief for drivers amid elevated fuel costs.

North Carolina's Nov. 3 general election ballot includes three constitutional amendments placed there by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. The first would extend the existing photo ID requirement to mail-in voters, who currently may instead submit a driver's license or partial Social Security number; voters already approved in-person photo ID in 2018, and mail-in fraud remains rare. The second would lower the state's constitutional income tax rate cap from 7% to 3.5%, requiring voter approval for any future increase above that level. Supporters, including sponsor Sen. Michael V. Lee, call it a taxpayer safeguard, while Gov. Josh Stein and other Democrats argue it mainly shields wealthy earners and would shift future budget pressure onto ordinary residents. The third amendment would require state lawmakers to set limits on local property tax increases; critics say it does little to address housing affordability. Each needs a simple majority to pass. Twenty-eight counties, including Mecklenburg, will also have local referendums, and voter registration closes Oct. 9.

North Carolina's Republican-majority State Board of Elections approved new mail-in voting restrictions on Sept. 4, hours before counties began mailing absentee ballots for the 2026 midterms. The 3-2 party-line vote requires officials to disqualify ballots returned in unsealed envelopes, reversing a prior policy that treated such errors as non-material, and limits who may submit a ballot on a voter's behalf to close relatives or legal guardians. Gov. Josh Stein criticized the move as a last-minute "circumvention" of the law that could disenfranchise voters. Other states, including Wisconsin, have since begun mailing their own 2026 absentee ballots, with local clerks directing voters to online portals to request, track, and confirm receipt of ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The rollout continues amid a broader legal fight over President Trump's executive order targeting mail-in voting nationwide, which requires federal approval of ballot envelope designs and voter list submissions. A federal judge has extended an order blocking USPS enforcement of the directive through the November elections, and the Trump administration has again appealed to the Supreme Court to lift the injunction. North Carolina, the first state to send out 2026 absentee ballots, voluntarily submitted its envelope design for federal review while still challenging the order's constitutionality. The absentee request deadline in North Carolina is Oct. 20.

North Carolina's Republican-controlled State Board of Elections voted Friday, hours before mail-in ballots were set to go out to more than 46,000 voters, to change how officials decide whether to count them. Issued through a numbered memo rather than permanent rulemaking, the new standards require disqualifying ballots when signatures don't match the application on record, restrict in-person delivery to a near relative or legal guardian, mandate "spoiling" a ballot if multiple are returned in one envelope, and require rejection if the inner envelope is improperly sealed. The board's two Democrats dissented, with member Siobhan Millen arguing the move sidesteps the board's own stated commitment to permanent rulemaking and directly affects whether ballots count. Republican member Stacy Eggers called it updated guidance for county-level processing.

The change comes amid separate national litigation over a Trump executive order requiring states to share voter lists with USPS and pre-approve ballot envelope designs, which 25 states are suing to block and a judge has already paused; the Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to let it proceed for November's elections.