Editorial: N.C. GOP, more than state Elections Board, needs transparency

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 -- There are important questions to be answered before the Ninth Congressional District election is certified. Were absentee ballots cast, particularly in Bladen County, actually legitimate votes? What happened to thousands of absentee ballots that were requested but never returned? State GOP Chairman Robin Hayes, Senate leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore and other Republican leaders routinely make demands and accuse others of failing to do their jobs and lacking transparency. They need to stop the finger pointing and start working for fair districts, fair access, and fair elections.

Posted 10:00 a.m. Dec 18, 2018 — Updated 5:13 p.m. Dec 18, 2018

CBC Editorial: Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018; Editorial #8371

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company

It is hard to imagine where the North Carolina GOP leadership found the gall to have the Ninth Congressional District Republican Executive Committee pass a “resolution” demanding the State Board of Elections “immediately certify” Mark Harris the winner of that district’s disputed election.

These are the same politicians who have spent the last eight years rigging elections through hyper-partisan gerrymandering; mid-election changes in ballot order and candidate identification; placing illegal limits on early voting; passing voter ID legislation courts ruled targeted African-Americans with “surgical precision;” and more.

While purporting to push voter ID laws to thwart voter fraud, these same GOP leaders have expressed token concern about the very strong indications that mail-in absentee voting was manipulated – particularly in the Ninth District.

Further, to complain of a “lack of transparency” on the part of the board and its work is as astonishingly wrong as it is brazenly hypocritical.

The Board of Elections has operated with admirable openness in the midst of an ongoing investigation. It has provided access to records, transcripts and other information while being mindful not to jeopardize the progress and integrity of the inquiry. Rather than keeping information from the public, the board has made it a point to share what is being learned in real time.

There still are important questions to be answered before this election is certified. Were absentee ballots cast, particularly in Bladen County, actually legitimate votes? Further, and perhaps more significant, what happened to thousands of absentee ballots that were requested but never returned?

Statewide, 16 percent of requested absentee ballots weren’t returned this year – but in the Ninth District, the rate was 24 percent.

Michael Bitzer, a Catawba College political scientist who researches election turnout and voting behavior, said in Bladen County 61 percent of the returned absentee ballots went for Republican Harris – but just 19 percent of those absentee ballots were cast by Republicans. Bladen was the ONLY county in the district where more absentee ballots were cast for Harris than Dan McCready, his Democratic opponent.

State GOP Chairman Robin Hayes, state Senate leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore and other Republican leaders routinely make demands and accuse others of failing to do their jobs and lacking transparency. Nobody listens anymore. They need to stop the finger pointing and start working for fair districts, fair access, and fair elections.

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