Bishop William Barber, NC faith leaders call for ‘conspicuous courage’ to combat voter confusion

One month before early in-person voting begins in North Carolina, civil rights leader and Repairers of the Breach (opens in a new tab) President Bishop William Barber said voters should not fall victim to the confusion surrounding voting in the midterms.

The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to approve the president’s executive order restricting mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections, directing the postal service to refuse to deliver mail ballots to certain voters. Late Monday, the high court kept in place (opens in a new tab) a lower court’s order blocking President Donald Trump’s plan to place new restrictions on mail ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 elections.

Voting rights advocates remain concerned that Homeland Security and ICE (opens in a new tab) may dissuade some individuals from showing up at the polls.

Trump has called voting by mail a “hoax,” and he and Republican supporters claim more restrictions on it are needed to prevent election fraud in November. However, Trump himself regularly votes by mail, and study after study has found that mail-in voting fraud is extremely rare.

Barber, founder of the Moral Monday movement, told reporters at a Monday press conference at Raleigh’s Martin Street Baptist Church this was all about creating confusion.

Trump won North Carolina in 2024 by 183,000 votes, but Barber said 1.2 million poor and low wage workers stayed on the sidelines and did not vote. If just 15% of the voters who didn’t cast a ballot two years ago were mobilized to vote in the midterms, the entire outcome could shift, said Barber.

Barber said extremists trying to cling to power are trying to sow confusion into the election process, even as North Carolina absentee ballots are being mailed out, in hopes that some potential voters will become discouraged and decide not to vote.