RALEIGH – North Carolina, in many ways, is a microcosm of the political quakes that are shaking swing states across the nation in the longest and most suspect election season in our modern history. It’s regarded by politicos as a purple state; has a geographically dominant Republican base; an increasingly influential progressive urban cohort; and the Left is focused on twisting anything and everything in order to paint it blue.
That includes the political vandalism of Democrat lawsuits filed specifically to erode the integrity of our elections by scheming to eliminate verification requirements and extending acceptance of absentee ballots to an absurd 12 days after the election.
Thursday, November 12, is the last day for those ballot to come in. But for more color on how we got here, Carolina Journal‘s Kari Travis spoke with former executive director of the NCGOP, now with the Civitas Institute.
“[…] Prolonged ballot counting doesn’t necessarily equal election fraud, experts say, but a little clarity in reporting from the N.C. State Board of Elections would go a long way toward alleviating distrust and discouraging conspiracy theories among voters.
The problems can be traced to October, said Dallas Woodhouse, strategic initiatives director at the Civitas Institute and former head of the N.C. GOP. That’s when Democratic super-litigator Marc Elias worked out a back-room deal with the Democrat-led elections board and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. The deal — made just weeks before Elections Day — extended North Carolina’s mail-in ballot deadline six days. That gave election officials until Nov. 12 to count any ballots postmarked by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.
State law set a Nov. 6 deadline to count ballots postmarked by Election Day, which the Elias settlement negated. Republicans challenged the deal with several lawsuits, but the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the extended deadline.
“It is not helpful to the process, ever, to change the rules late in the game,” Woodhouse told Carolina Journal. “Especially when it is done administratively and over the will of the people.”
The state remains in limbo, and Republican candidates with thin leads are waiting to see if their races will be affected by the outstanding ballots. The contest for Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court is especially tight. Republican Paul Newby was leading Democratic incumbent Cheri Beasley by about 3,000 votes at the close of Election Day. As of Wednesday, Nov. 11, his lead dropped to 946 votes. […]”
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