State Lawmakers Asking Board of Elections Chair Tough Questions About Secret Communciations

RALEIGH – After WBTV dug up pre-election communications between then-Vice Chair of the State Board of Elections Joshua Malcolm, a Democrat, and a Bladen County Democrat at the center of the fraud investigation, state lawmakers have some tough questions for Mr. Malcolm. WBTV Reporter Nick Ochsner didn’t come by the information easily. Instead he got the run around my Malcolm, and the Board attorney, before they finally revealed more records of texts and phone calls between these two partisans before Malcolm made a motion to delay certification of the NC-09 congressional race.

Sen. Harry Brown (R-Jacksonville) and Rep. Kathy Harrington (R-Gaston) decided that Malcolm’s unwillingness to be forthcoming, and the inconsistencies in the provision of those records, made it necessary to seek more clear answers about the sketchy communications.

From WBTV:

“In the interest of full transparency, we request you answer the following questions regarding your relationship with Mr. Lutz and the nature of your communications,” the letter said. “Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you and Mr. Lutz discussed apparent ballot irregularities before the 2018 election.” 

Malcolm, and Democrats, have made a big deal about transparency in the wake of election fraud allegations made against the campaign of Republican Mark Harris. True to form, though, they seem to practice the ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ mantra.

In total, lawmakers posited eleven questions to Malcolm:

NC Senate Malcolm Letter by on Scribd

The lawmakers want to know when and what Malcolm discussed with Lutz prior to the election, the motion to not certify, and the subsequent investigation. Further, Brown and Harrington want to know why Malcolm was so resistant to providing the information.

For instance, why did the attorney for the Board indicate there were no phone records when the texts indicate that there were? Why did it take the threat of legal action for Malcolm to turn over more of the records? And a big burning question put to Malcolm is asking why he did nothing if he had been aware of illegal activities in his home turf for an extended period of time?

It all combines, the lawmakers intimated, to reduce the appearance of integrity in the Board’s investigatory functions. They hint at legislative hearings, too.

There is a lot that stinks about Bladen County (and Robeson, and others) and the 9th Congressional District elections, and the source of that smell should be identified and dealt with, but the stench seems to be tainting the Board of Elections chairman as well.

Gee, if we only had a Board structured in such a way as to eliminate partisan efforts…

You can read the latest from WBTV here.