On Thursday, Sam Hayes officially became executive director for the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE). He replaces Karen Brinson Bell, whose term expired the same day.
Hayes was appointed for a two-year term by the state board at their meeting on May 7.
Before taking the position, Hayes was the general counsel for North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, after serving as general counsel for former House Speaker Tim Moore. In that role, he worked on developing election policy and defending election law in the courts.
An attorney from Kernersville, Hayes practiced law in Washington, DC, before returning to North Carolina to serve as general counsel of the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of State Treasurer.
“I’d like to thank the State Board for this appointment – it’s an honor,” he said in a press release. “Managing North Carolina’s elections is no easy task, but I have confidence in the capabilities of this office. By building on the foundation of counting votes and following the law, we can be of great service to the people of North Carolina.”
Board member Stacy “Four” Eggers gave the following statement:
“Sam Hayes brings a wealth of election and government experience to this role. He knows North Carolina and has a firm grip on election administration in our state. I look forward to working alongside him.”
While Eggers thanked Brinson Bell for her years of service at last week’s meeting, he nominated Hayes as the new executive director.
Both incumbent Democratic members, Siobhan Millen and Jeff Carmon, commented on Brinson Bell’s accomplishments.
“I think this is a shabby way to treat a nationally admired executive election director, and further that the recent habit of changing the executive director whenever the composition of the election board changes runs counter to our goal to bolster people’s faith in fair elections,” Millen said
Eggers pointed out that there is precedent for changing the executive director position, as when the board composition changed following the election of former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Francis X. De Luca, Robert Anthony Rucho, and Eggers were all nominated by Jason Simmons, Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, and appointed by State Auditor Dave Boliek.
A provision in Senate Bill 382, which became law in December, allows the state auditor to make new elections board appointments and assume administrative oversight of the Board.
Eggers nominated De Luca as the chair. With the exception of Millen and Carmon, the motion carried. De Luca replaces Democrat Alan Hirsch.
Rucho nominated Eggers for secretary, but Millen also nominated Carmon.
“In order to continue being a bipartisan board, and since Mr. Carmon has served as secretary so faithfully for six years, it would be a good look to have him continue as secretary,” she said.
But the motion wasn’t seconded, so the motion for Eggers stood and was carried.
Brinson Bell asked De Luca twice if she could make some remarks and thank staff. But Eggers, De Luca, and Rucho voted in favor of adjourning and ended the meeting before she could.
She later read from her prepared statement.
Brinson Bell told reporters after the meeting that she has been fortunate to work with Hayes and knows he is knowledgeable about election law.
“I hope that will serve him well,” she said. “It is unfortunate that they’ve taken a path where the individual does not have practical election administration experience, but I am confident that if he will work closely with the state board staff, that he has some incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated people who will see that we are handling elections well.”
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