North Raleigh Today

The Republican members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections resigned in protest. 

Those members claim they were misled by Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and board staff to trick them into agreeing to a settlement with Marc Elias that critics say will gut the state's protections against misuse of absentee ballots, the Carolina Journal reported on Sept. 23.

David Black and Ken Raymond handed in their separate resignations on Sept. 23, alleging that they were not only misled regarding the need to permit the board's director to negotiate the settlements out of court but even misled about what those settlements would entail, the Carolina Journal reported. 

Black said that he believed, under settlements, a witness was required to confirm a challenged absentee ballot to verify a voter's confirmation that their ballot had been mailed, the Carolina Journal reported. 

Raymond alleged that Stein misled the board about the likelihood of successful litigation, failing to inform the members that some items in the settlement had failed under previous litigation.

With the resignation, the state's election board comprises only of the three Democrat members, the Carolina Journal reported. 

In response to the resignations, the board spokesman Pat Gannon said, in part, "The agency's legal staff, who are civil servants, provide thorough legal memos to the board prior to every board meeting and answer any questions board members have about matters that come before the board," the Carolina Journal reported.