The NC candidate who wanted to use “Mortellus” on the ballot says the state’s response is incomplete

North Carolina ballots must have candidates’ legal names or nicknames, and must include last names unless legally, the candidates have just one name, the state Board of Elections decided last week. 

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously that candidates cannot forgo putting surnames names on ballots if they have them. 

The decision stemmed from a request for declaratory rulings from Mortellus, a candidate for Soil and Water District Board of Supervisors in Rutherford County, whose legal name is Terrayle Amorello. Mortellius is a religious name and is how they are known in the community, they said in the request for a declaratory ruling. 

In their discussion last week, elections board members said they would stick with state law.

Candidates must have surnames on the ballot, said Siobhan Millen, a Democrat on the state board. Election officials  must have the ability to make changes if there is an error, she said.

In an interview this week, Mortellus, who uses they/them pronouns, said they may ask the state Office of Administrative Hearings to determine whether the board made the right decision.  

When Morellus filed to run, they wanted to use their single name, but offered to have “Mortellus” in parentheses before or after their legal name. They did not want Motellus displayed as a nickname. 

“I simply asked if my faith name could be before my birth name rather than in the middle,” they said. “I didn’t want it  to be perceived as a nickname when it is in fact something holy.” 

They were first publicly listed as a candidate as NLN Mortellus, or “no last name,” with the single name appearing on the ballot. 

State board members said they did not want to delve into religion. . 

“I don’t want to second-guess anyone’s religious beliefs,” said board member Stacy “Four” Eggers IV, a Republican. 

In the process of receiving instructions from the state elections staff on how their name would appear, Mortellus’ name on the ballot was changed from the mononym to Mortellus Amorello. 

In the interview, they said the board failed to answer the question about religious names and didn’t say whether a county or state elections board could alter accepted candidate records without cooperation from the candidate. 

“I don’t feel like they answered my questions,” they said.