Federal Judge Blows Up Dem Scheme to Eliminate Witness Signature Requirement, Rules Absentee Ballots Missing Signature MUST Have One to Count

RALEIGH – Federal Judge William Osteen has ruled that absentee ballots MUST have a witness signature.

The Democrats on the N.C. State Board of Elections, the Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein, and the Democrat attorney plaintiff that all winked and nodded their way to a lawsuit settlement effectively eliminating the witness requirement for absentee ballots have been caught, and now spanked.

“This court upheld the witness requirement – to claim a cure which eliminates that witness requirement is ‘consistent with’ this court’s order is a gross mischaracterization,” wrote Osteen.

The Leftists are doing their best to put on a smile and spin this as win for their side of things, citing additional ‘cures’ available to voters who filled out that ballot incorrectly or incompletely.

Interim executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice Allison Riggs framed the ruling as a victory for voting rights advocates because it allows some corrections to ballots, saying:

“Today was a win for our clients and for all North Carolina voters who need to correct a problematic mail-in ballot.”

Whatever you say, Ms. Riggs.

Make no mistake, this is a smack down of the collusive settlement aimed at cleverly doing away with the witness requirement.

Judge Osteen said that even ballots already submitted must meet the requirement. A signed affidavit by the voter is not sufficient (that’s what the settlement tried to sneak by); only a witness signature attesting to the integrity of the ballot will do.

That doesn’t mean ballots with out a witness signature are tossed. To the contrary, those voters will be given ample opportunity to bring the ballot into compliance, and have their vote counted.

If having all this go on while voting is already taking place in an election seems problematic — it is! That’s why the sly scheme of BOE Democrats to loosen ballot protections so close to an election, and contrary to state law, was so unnerving to Republican board members that they felt compelled to resign in protest.

Now, should the races be close — and they will be — get ready for Democrats to point to ballots ultimately deemed ineligible as evidence of that the election was ‘stolen.’