Group Appears to Violate North Carolina Election and Campaign Finance Laws | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Dr. Andy Jackson.

    I wrote last week that a group in New Bern did not appear to be violating a North Carolina law barring the giving of "any money, property or other thing of value whatsoever" in exchange for voting.

    However, it looks like a group operating in Greensboro is violating that law (GS 163-275(2)).

    The group, StackedPAC, may also be violating North Carolina campaign finance law.

    Delivering the Votes and Breaking the Law

    On November 3, Informed Voters Of North Carolina (IVNC) volunteers witnessed people at a StackedPAC table giving away food and merchandise to people who came by bus to vote at the AG Center early voting site on East Market in Greensboro, North Carolina. The volunteers took pictures, which were posted on their Facebook page. I am reposting some of those pictures here with the permission of IVNC President Marcus Kindley. They have been cropped to fit computer screens better.

    Kindley also shared what volunteers said happened at the StackedPAC table:

    This group was set up right at the Curbside voting area. They had buses bring individuals up to their table. As they stepped off the bus, they were immediately greeted, given Doughnuts, and water bottles (bling), along with filling out paperwork before going in to vote. They also set up so that regular individuals would not approach them...

    Group Also Likely Breaking Campaign Finance Law

    StackedPAC filed a statement of organization as a political action committee with the Federal Election Commission in 2021. North Carolina is one of their target states, and they are campaigning here.

    However, a search of reports at the State Board of Elections (SBE) reveals nothing from the StackedPAC, not even a statement of organization. Federal-only organizations are normally outside the scope of state campaign finance laws. However, operating a merchandise-for-voting table outside an early voting site affects state and local, as well as federal, campaigns, so their failure to file reports with the SBE violates North Carolina's campaign finance law (GS 163-278.9).

    Expect updates on this story in the coming days.