NC S731

Prohibits the State Board of Elections, county boards of elections, and county boards of commissioners from directly accepting private monetary donations or in-kind contributions for conducting elections or temporary employment, with limited exceptions.

Establishes an Emergency Election Fund consisting of private monetary donations and state-appropriated funds, which must be deposited directly into the fund rather than given to election boards.

Creates a nine-member North Carolina Emergency Election Authority to manage the Emergency Election Fund and authorize all disbursements, with members appointed by the Governor (5), President Pro Tempore of the Senate (2), and Speaker of the House (2), serving five-year terms with a two-term limit.

Restricts fund disbursements to situations where a state of emergency has been declared or county boards of commissioners in more than one-third of counties adopt resolutions stating insufficient funds for administering elections, with resolutions due between 60 days before an election and the opening of one-stop voting.

Grants the Emergency Election Authority sole authority to fundraise and solicit grants for the fund, and requires approval of any in-kind contributions before use in elections; act becomes effective October 1, 2021.