Clark Pope, the Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives District 11, recently questioned if Gov. Roy Cooper's administration colluded in absentee ballot settlement. | Photo Courtesy of Clark Pope Campaign
Clark Pope, the Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives District 11, recently questioned if Gov. Roy Cooper's administration colluded in absentee ballot settlement. | Photo Courtesy of Clark Pope Campaign
After the North Carolina Board of Elections recently agreed to a settlement with advocacy groups over absentee ballot procedures, both Republican members of the five-member board resigned, citing misleading information from Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein's office.
Clark Pope, the Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives District 11, recently told North Raleigh Today he believed there was improper handling of the situation by Democrats, including Gov. Roy Cooper.
Ken Raymond and David Black both indicated dissatisfaction with the information they received about the settlement from Stein and the board of elections staff before agreeing to the settlements, according to coverage by U.S. News and World Report. The remaining three members of the board are Democrats.
Damon Circosta, the elections board chair, said that the decision was necessary to avoid litigation that could have resulted in a court overturning broader voter protections, according to U.S. News.
"Legal settlements are never perfect because, by their very nature, they require compromise," Circosta said, according to an article in the U.S. News and World Report. "I was proud that our board was able to come together unanimously to make sure that every vote is secure and every voter is safe when they cast their ballot."
In his resignation letter, Raymond "It is impossible to have true bipartisanship when both sides of the political aisle do not have the important and vital information needed to make the right decisions," according to U.S. News and World Report.
In an email to North Raleigh Today, Pope said he feels Democrats in the state government intentionally favored advocacy groups who had brought the litigation.
"The executive branch shouldn't be colluding with third parties to ram through settlements that undermine the legislative branch," Pope said.
He also pointed out the ease with which he feels election fraud could now happen.
"I have very little confidence in the use of signatures for election security given that my own is readily available on the wake county register of deeds website," Pope said.
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