NC State Board of Elections executive director Karen Brinson Bell and Senate President Phil Berger. (File photos)
The state’s top election official wrote Senate leader Phil Berger with “an urgent plea” to retract his statement casting doubt on election results.
The legislature passed a bill this week that, along with several provisions removing powers from offices that will be filled by Democrats in 2025, drastically limits the time counties would have to count ballots. Counties usually certify vote totals 10 days after an election. A few counties took longer this year.
After the Senate session this week, Berger, a Republican, told reporters, “we’re seeing played out at this point another episode of ‘Count Until Somebody You Want to Win Wins,” The Associated Press reported.
Counts of absentee and provisional votes put incumbent Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs ahead of Republican Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin in the Supreme Court race. She had been trailing by about 10,000 votes on election night. Griffin asked for a recount, which is ongoing. He’s also challenging more than 60,000 ballots.
In her letter Thursday, state Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell told Berger his words contributed to the false idea that elections can’t be trusted and may put local election workers in danger. WUNC first reported on Brinson Bell’s letter.
“You are a top leader of our state government,” she wrote. “What you say matters. When you tell your fellow citizens that an election is being conducted fraudulently, they listen. I fear for the people running elections in this state, including in your own community, that some misguided people will conclude from your statements that actions must be taken, perhaps through the use of threats or violence.
Berger’s office did not respond to an email Friday morning requesting comment on Brinson Bell’s letter.
Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue issued a statement Thursday calling Berger’s comments “dishonest and hypocritical.” “Senator Berger’s comments are not about election integrity— they’re about revenge,” Blue’s statement said.
“When Republicans lose, they follow the same old playbook where they cry foul in a disturbing pattern of behavior that erodes public confidence in our elections and insults the intelligence of North Carolina’s voters.
“The State Board of Elections has made it clear that the processes in place ensure transparency and fairness in our elections. I urge Senator Berger to retract his comments immediately, as requested by the State Board, and to focus on building trust in our electoral system instead of tearing it down.”
McCrory decries bill that grabs powers and further alters election laws
Former Gov. Pat McCrory, now state chairman of a group called RightCount, condemned passage of the power shift bill, which was fast-tracked through the legislature.
McCrory, a Republican, criticized the bill for taking power to appoint the Board of Elections away from the governor, even though he signed a law in 2016 that would have weakened that power for future governors.
The bill passed this week was presented as one for hurricane relief, but included provision after provision stripping newly elected Democrats of their powers and responsibilities.
In addition to shortening times for counting votes, the bill gives new Republican State Auditor David Boliek the power to appoint the Board of Elections and gives the Board a 3-2 Republican majority.
Under current law, the governor appoints Board members, choosing from lists forwarded by the state Democratic and Republican parties. The governor’s party has a 3-2 majority on the board. Democratic Gov.-Elect Josh Stein would appoint members, and the Board chairman would be a Democrat.
“North Carolinians, including me, elected the state auditor to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in state government— not appoint the Board of Elections,” McCrory said in a statement. “The North Carolina Constitution assigns appointment powers of this nature to the governor, not the state auditor. Both political parties should stop playing games with the administration of elections, which shakes the confidence of voters in our voting system,” McCrory’s statement said.
Republicans have been trying to strip the governor’s power to appoint Board members and change the partisan makeup of the Board for years. In 2016, McCrory joined in those efforts.
After his defeat in 2016 and days before he left office, McCrory signed a law stripping governors of their power to appoint a majority of board members and expanding Board membership from five to eight. The law gave the governor four appointments and Republican legislators four appointments.
Gov. Roy Cooper sued over the law and won.