North Carolina Democratic Governor Josh Stein is spreading a clear falsehood about absentee ballot rejections, and Republicans need to call it out immediately. Stein posted that the State Board of Elections’ “last-minute changes to voting by mail are leading to thousands more absentee ballots being rejected this election, at a rejection rate twice as high as in 2022.” He called it “infuriating” and told voters to cast ballots in person if possible so their votes wouldn’t be “taken away.” The actual numbers from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show nothing of the sort. Preliminary data shows a spoiled ballot rate of 3.1% so far in 2026, compared with 2.6% at the same stage in 2022. That is a modest increase of half a percentage point, not a doubling. The final 2022 rejection rate finished around 2.2%. Stein’s claim appears to rest on an analysis from Common Cause North Carolina that was amplified by Democracy Docket, the left-leaning legal outfit founded by Marc Elias. Democracy Docket is actively suing to block the new rules. The Common Cause review covered only 27 of 100 counties and mixed various rejection reasons; some of those rejections were unrelated to the recent changes. The rules in question were adopted by the Republican-majority State Board of Elections and upheld this week by a federal judge. They mainly require voters to properly seal the inner envelope containing the ballot (in addition to the outer mailing envelope) and tighten rules on who can assist with or return ballots. The judge noted that the requirements are clearly stated on the materials and are not unduly burdensome. The stated purpose is basic chain-of-custody protection for mail ballots. This is the pattern: implement or enforce routine integrity measures, then generate inflated rejection numbers from partial or advocacy-sourced data, frame them as deliberate suppression, and prime the public for “rigged election” claims if close races do not break the preferred way. Early in-person voting has been strong, and the U.S. Senate race between Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley is competitive, exactly the setting where such messaging is most useful. Republicans in North Carolina and nationally should treat this as a preview, not an isolated incident. Document the official numbers, push back in real time on the “twice as high” claim, and defend straightforward envelope and handling rules as ordinary election security rather than conspiracy. Voters who follow the clear instructions will have their ballots counted; those who do not can still cure issues or vote in person. That is not suppression. It is process. Vote RED in the Midterms Vote America First 🇺🇸