Republican State Auditor Appoints New Board of Election Members, After Unanimous Appeals Court Ruling
Yesterday afternoon, in a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel overturned a split decision from the lower court. The ruling cleared the way for Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek to make appointments to the North Carolina Board of Elections, effectively flipping the majority control from Democrat to Republican.
Auditor Boliek Takes Action
Today, State Auditor Dave Boliek announced three new appointments to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Francis X. De Luca of Wilmington. De Luca is a former president of the Civitas Institute. He served in the United States Marine Corps for 30 years and retired with the rank of Colonel, and is a previous member of the State Ethics Commission.
Robert A. Rucho of Catawba County. Rucho is a former member of the North Carolina Senate where he served for nearly 17 years. He led on a variety of legislative issues including tax reform and electoral policy.
Stacy “Four” Eggers IV of Boone. Eggers is a lawyer and managing partner of Eggers Law Firm, and currently serves on the State Board of Elections.
After the State Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party submitted the names, Boliek appointed Siobhan O’Duffy Millen and Jeff Carmon, who currently serve on the NCSBE.
What they are saying:
Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger said, “The Court of Appeals rightly affirmed what we all know: the Governor is not the sole elected executive officer in North Carolina’s government. Despite that, Gov. Stein is desperately grasping to keep a partisan stranglehold on the Board of Elections, instead of working to make commonsense changes to improve election administration. North Carolinians deserve to have a Board of Elections that works for them. That’s why the General Assembly reformed the State Board of Elections last year to be under the authority of the State Auditor’s Office, which is well equipped to refocus the Board’s mission and restore trust in our elections.”
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said, “North Carolina’s current, partisan State Board of Elections has been a national embarrassment. The job of the NC State Board of Elections is simply this: to uphold the law as the NC General Assembly has passed it. So far, they have utterly failed at that job for the sake of partisan political games and in so doing, failed the people of North Carolina. I believe our auditor will appoint good folks who will follow the law, and I commend the Court of Appeals on their ruling.”
Democrat Governor Josh Stein said, “Jefferson Griffin lost. When you lose, you work harder the next time to win. You do not try to change the rules after the election is over. Today’s Court of Appeals decision about the Board of Elections poses a threat to our democracy and the rule of law. The Supreme Court should not allow it to stand. I fear that this decision is the latest step in the partisan effort to steal a seat on the Supreme Court. No emergency exists that can justify the Court of Appeals’ decision to interject itself at this point. The only plausible explanation is to permit the Republican State Auditor to appoint a new State Board of Elections that will try to overturn the results of the Supreme Court race.”
Brief Timeline of the State Board of Elections Controversy
The North Carolina Board of Elections is tasked with overseeing and administering elections in North Carolina. The Governor’s party has the majority of appointments both on the state and all 100 county boards. During the early part of the 20th century, partisan control over the election machinery was widely believed to have led to some election fraud.
Back in 2017, after Governor Pat McCrory lost his reelection bid, lawmakers at the North Carolina General Assembly began to work to create a bipartisan board of Elections. But met fierce resistance from Governor Cooper. Eventually, the Democrats on the North Carolina Supreme Court sided with the Governor, scuttling efforts to implement a bipartisan state board.
In 2019, as soon as Democrats gained control over the North Carolina Board of Elections, they immediately fired the well-respected Executive Director, Kim Strach, and hired an activist. The liberal Charlotte Observer editorial board condemned the move, saying, “So why did Strach get shown the door? It’s because she is not a Democrat and the Board of Elections is majority Democrat. It’s legal. It’s happened before. And it’s wrong.”
In the 2020 election, the Democrats on the State Board signed a collusive settlement with liberal activists that benefited Democrat candidates, which a federal judge later condemned as “lawless.” And then the NCSBE Executive Director lied to the General Assembly about the whole situation.
In 2022, the State Board sided with the Democratic Party in excluding the Green Party candidates, in an effort to help Cheri Beasley avoid competition. Federal litigation eventually compelled the State Board to include all the qualified candidates.
In 2024, the Jefferson Griffin protests highlighted some serious issues with election management.
First, a former WRAL reporter confirmed that the State Board of Elections likely allowed at least 227 ballots to be cast by individuals who indicated that they had never lived in North Carolina, despite the state constitution stating that only North Carolina residents are qualified to vote in North Carolina elections.
Second, the Griffin protest reveals numerous times that ballots were cast without a photo ID, as required in the North Carolina constitution.
Finally, the Griffin protest shows that the State Board of Elections was not adequately following federal law to effectively verify the identity of eligible voters.
Sidebar: One wonders if the mess with the Supreme Court race would have been avoided if the Democrats on the State Board of Elections were as focused on following the law, as electing more Democrats.
What’s next:
The ruling for the Court of Appeals will likely be appealed to both the North Carolina Supreme Court and Federal Courts. This is but the latest chapter in the long history of controversy surrounding the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
