evidence: North Carolina is joining a group of Republican-led states that are imposing new restrictions on voting and exerting legislative control over elections boards. [...] In North Carolina, Republicans want to shorten the window for timely return of mailed absentee ballots and require signature verification and two-factor authentication for those ballots. North Carolina now requires two witness signatures or the signature of a notary public for absentee ballots. If the law passes, North Carolina would be the only state to require both signature verification and witness signatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.