NC elections director disputes judge’s claim that GOP-led agency is politically biased

N.C. Board of Elections Director Sam Hayes said the board will serve all voters regardless of party.

His statement came after a state appellate judge wrote a blistering assessment of election administration after it shifted to Republican control. 

This week, the state Appeals Court in a 2-1 decision okayed a 2024 law that stripped Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein of appointments to the state Board of Elections and gave that power to incoming Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek. Afterward, the state board and county boards shifted from Democratic to Republican majorities, with Boliek appointing all state board members and all county elections board chairs. 

“Today’s ruling affirms the constitutional authority of the General Assembly to allocate responsibilities among the Council of State agencies that make up the Executive Branch,” Hayes said. However, regardless of where the independent State Board of Elections is administratively housed, our mission remains the same—to serve all voters of this state regardless of party.”  

Stein said in a statement Wednesday that he will appeal the decision.

Two Republican judges on the panel decided the case for legislators and Boliek. 

Appeals Court Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, dissented and disagreed with the majority that the board is apolitical.

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He noted that the state board replaced its director with Hayes, who was chief counsel to Republican House Speaker Destin Hall. Boliek hired a former state Republican Party executive director to work as a liaison with county boards of election.

Other board decisions, including eliminating Sunday voting hours in some counties, eliminating polling places at some college campuses and moving to make it easier to reject absentee ballots, “appear to be designed to make it more difficult for citizens, who have historically voted in favor of candidates not favored by the majority of the members or the Legislature or the Auditor, to vote,” Arrowood wrote. 

In his statement, Hayes took issue with Arrowood’s characterization.

“The dissent not only mischaracterizes recent decisions of the current Board, but it also perpetuates the fiction that my predecessors were non-partisan actors. Despite these distractions, our focus remains on successfully administering elections in North Carolina.”

Hayes continued: “Regardless of my political affiliation, as Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, I have always endeavored to follow the letter and the spirit of the law with every decision, and I intend to do so going forward. Faithful adherence to the law, not meaningless platitudes, is what inspires confidence in elections.”