State Elections Board Gives Both Parties A Say In Early Voting Disputes | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Barry Smith, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Republican-controlled board approved bipartisan and Democrat-sponsored county plans

    Despite being controlled by Republicans, the State Board of Elections didn't seem to heed a request to make "party-line changes" last week when it approved plans for early voting this fall.

    "I did not get any impression this was any kind of party-line vote or party-line decision," said Mark Ezzell, the lone Democrat on the Wake County Board of Elections. Ezzell's alternate early voting plan for Wake County was adopted by the state board.

    "It was clear to me the state board saw themselves as a deliberative body and they deliberated very well," Ezzell said.

    During a marathon 12-hour session Sept. 7, the State Board of Elections took up early voting plans that were not approved by a unanimous vote of the county boards in 33 counties. Both the state and county elections boards have Republican majorities, reflecting the political party of the governor. The state board has a 3-2 GOP majority, with each county board having two Republicans and one Democrat.

    Dallas Woodhouse, state GOP executive director, had sent an email to local elections officials urging GOP members to make changes to early voting plans supported by Republicans. "Republicans can and should make partly line changes to early voting," Woodhouse wrote.

    Seven of the plans approved last week by the state board were submitted by the minority Democratic member of the local board. Another five approved by the state board had local approval by one Republican and one Democratic board member.

    "I don't think we had a particular problem with most things that [the state board] did, with the exception of the Appalachian State [University] early voting site where the Republicans and a lot of people believe that the student union is an atrocious place to have an election," Woodhouse said.

    The state board approved a different site for Appalachian State in Watauga County, a student music hall called Legends, with the provision that the university consent to using Legends for early voting. ASU Chancellor Sheri Everts, in a letter to the Watauga board, refused to give that consent. Instead, the Plemmons Student Union will be the ASU on-campus early voting site.

    Woodhouse said the student union is not a good site because campaigning takes place inside the building.

    Retired Superior Court Judge James Baker Jr. from Madison County, one of the Republicans on the state board, said he didn't think any of the five members forgot their party affiliation. But he also said he thought all five wanted to make sure the elections were fair.

    "We have to remember the 4th Circuit's opinions," Baker said.

    The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals action in July set the revised early voting scheduling in motion. The appeals court ruled unconstitutional five provisions of a broad 2013 election law rewrite, including a provision shortening early voting from 17 days to 10 days.

    "We have to remember what the local board and what the General Assembly and the state board [did] have been very much subject to close scrutiny and ... subject to accusations of bias," Baker said.

    Baker noted that all of the plans before the state board resulted from the inability of county boards to support a plan unanimously.

    "That is a difficult situation," Baker said. "We're not from those counties."

    The state board approved plans submitted by Democrats from the state's two largest counties, Mecklenburg and Wake, including Ezzell's plan in Wake County.

    "The state board showed a great deal of independence, thought, and attention to detail when they were considering all those plans last week," Ezzell said. "They went through 33 plans. Frankly, I was skeptical that they would be able to get through them all in one day."

    Ezzell said the state board took its time with each plan and he didn't feel anyone was short-changed.

    "It was run in such a precise way, but also a way that everybody felt like adequate time [was] given to consideration of each proposal, Ezzell said. "I really got the impression that this state board, like many other state boards that I've dealt with during my tenure on the Wake County board, tried to reach good, sensible, bipartisan compromises, and they were swayed by data, by history, and by I think common-sense arguments."

    Woodhouse said the current system of crafting election plans gave previous Democratic-controlled boards of elections more discretionary powers than Republicans. "I don't think we have a system that's reasonable," Woodhouse said. "The Republican-controlled county boards of elections should have had the same discretion."

    The state board additionally adopted plans proposed by Democrats in Duplin, Hoke, Northampton, Pamlico, and Stanly counties.

    It also adopted bipartisan plans from Orange, Person, Robeson, Rowan, and Vance counties.

    In addition, the state board added early voting hours in other counties, including Sunday voting hours in several.