Democrats’ request to question Woodhouse at the NC elections board is rejected.

Democrats on the North Carolina State Board of Elections want to subpoena Dallas Woodhouse, a Republican operative and former elections liaison on Auditor Dave Boliek’s staff, to ask him about his communications with county elections board chairs. 

Jeff Carmon, a Democrat on the board, read some of the texts Woodhouse sent to county elections chairs at the state Board of Elections meeting Thursday, while suggesting that Woodhouse improperly influenced counties’ early voting plans. 

It’s important that the board “fully understand the scope and nature of these communications,” Carmon said. 

Republican member Stacy “Four” Eggers IV, the acting chairman at Thursday’s meeting, rejected Carmon’s request to put the issue on the board’s Monday meeting agenda. He did not allow a vote on whether the board should pursue the matter. 

Woodhouse’s work in Boliek’s office was controversial from the announcement of his hire last year.  Woodhouse was once the NC Republican Party’s executive director and was state director for Americans for Prosperity. Boliek hired him to be his “eyes and ears” in the counties on elections matters. 

Woodhouse resigned from the auditor’s office this week, but text messages he sent to county chairs that have recently come to light through public records requests have fueled the controversy.

Former GOP operative the state auditor hired for elections work resigns amid controversy

Before the Jackson County Board of Elections meeting last month, Woodhouse texted the Jackson County chair, “don’t let them have a vote.” The board later that day approved an early voting site at Western Carolina University that Boliek’s office didn’t want. 

Woodhouse told the Columbus County chair how many early voting sites to have and where they should be located. Woodhouse mentioned unspecified “other key goals” in the Columbus texts. 

Eggers said the questioning under oath would violate Woodhouse’s First Amendment right to protected political speech. Questioning Woodhouse would open the door to Republican members subpoenaing Democratic governors’ staff members, Eggers added. 

“I think that going down this line is ill advised, and all the matters you’ve addressed have been covered in the media,” he said. “I appreciate your digging this back up just so we can bury it again.”

Carmon said he disagreed that Woodhouse’s interactions with county boards are protected political speech, because Woodhouse was an employee in the auditor’s office involved in elections at the time.  

“It scares me that the allegations that we’ve seen would be buried, especially when we’re touting free and fair elections, when we’re touting integrity,” Carmon said. 

Carmon has been a member of the board since former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper made the appointments. After the meeting, Carmon said he never heard of anyone on Cooper’s staff directing county early voting plans. 

“I have never heard of any of that type of behavior,” he said. 

A controversial law Republicans passed in 2024 gave Boliek the power to appoint state board members, stripping that responsibility from Democrat Josh Stein after he won the governorship. Boliek also appointed all county board chairs. The state and county boards flipped from 3-2 Democratic majorities to 3-2 Republican majorities.