All 100 of North Carolina‘s county election boards shifted from Democratic to Republican control Tuesday, following State Auditor Dave Boliek’s appointment of GOP chairs statewide. The move expands Republican control of election oversight from the state to local levels.
The change follows a recent law stripping appointment power from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who is challenging it in court. Appellate judges have allowed it to take effect for now. Local boards influence early voting site decisions, polling hours, and ballot adjudication.
At the state level, the new GOP-led Board of Elections recently appointed Sam Hayes as elections director and voted to begin collecting missing identification numbers from about 98,000 voters. These voters, registered post-2004, must provide ID numbers to ensure ballots are counted automatically.
The Justice Department, which sued the Board last month, has tentatively agreed to the plan as a path to settle the case. The lawsuit followed claims made by GOP groups and failed Republican judicial candidate Jefferson Griffin to purge voter rolls.
Hayes said the effort balances election security with voter access.
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