BOMBSHELL: Collusive Settlement Goes Beyond Board’s Authorization

Meeting Minutes Show Dem Members Want to Keep Witness Requirement, Not Allow Unmanned Drop Boxes

Raleigh, N.C. — Meeting minutes from the Sept. 15 closed session of the State Board of Elections reveal a bombshell. The collusive settlement “negotiated” between the Democratic attorneys with the Board of Elections, the N.C. Department of Justice and national Democrats went way beyond the bounds of what the state Board of Elections had originally authorized.

At the very beginning of the meeting, Democratic attorneys falsely told Republican Board members that “privilege” forbade them from speaking to anybody about the collusive settlement. This apparent effort to muzzle the Republican members further supports the fact that Democrats went to great lengths to conceal their secret negotiations with Marc Elias.

Minutes clearly show that Board of Elections members authorized settlement terms that included keeping the witness requirement on absentee ballots and prohibiting unmanned ballot drop boxes.

But the collusive settlement announced this week does the exact OPPOSITE of what the Board authorized. If accepted by a judge, the settlement would violate state law by allowing absentee ballots with no witness information. All the “voter” would have to do is sign a form, which also does not require a witness. That effectively eliminates the witness requirement.

Board members knew this and spoke against making such a decision during closed session.

According to the meeting minutes, Democratic board member Stella Anderson said, “If we say that the voter can cure no witness signature, we are exempting them from the witness requirement. This is problematic.” Ms. Anderson then noted that any cure affidavit “could be exploited” by the same person who sent in the ballot without the witness signature.

Members of the State Board of Elections were also against establishing unmanned ballot drop boxes. Yet, the settlement allows ballots placed in unmanned drop boxes to be counted. The collusive settlement agreement says a county board “may not disapprove a ballot solely because it is placed in a drop box.” That policy allows the use of unmanned drop boxes.

“It is beyond troubling that this collusive settlement completely disregarded clear directions from the State Board of Elections. The members of the board spoke out about the necessity of the witness requirement, but the collusive settlement effectively eliminates it,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said. “Instead of increasing election security in the shadow of election fraud from 2018, Democrats led by Attorney General’s office and national Democrats’ go-to attorney Marc Elias took it upon themselves to rewrite and ignore state law in an attempt to game the elections system.”

Below is what the collusive settlement would do if approved:

1. Permit anonymous outdoor absentee ballot drop boxes. The law forbids anybody other than a voter or a voter’s near relative from delivering an absentee ballot and requires the Board of Elections to record who returns every ballot. But the collusive consent order filed today allows outdoor “absentee ballot drop-off stations” and says, “a county board may not disapprove a ballot solely because it is placed in a drop box.” The Democratic-controlled Board was kind enough to require signs on the drop boxes that tell ballot harvesters they’re not really supposed to use them.

2. Eliminate witness requirements for absentee ballots. State law requires one witness to sign an absentee ballot and legibly include his or her name and address. But the collusive consent order submitted today effectively eliminates that requirement. If an absentee ballot is submitted without the required witness information, the Democratic-controlled Board of Elections will just mail a form to the address to which the ballot was sent, and the form can be returned with no witness information. The form can be returned nine days after the election.

3. Extend the time period in which an absentee ballot can be received by the Board to nine days after the election. State law requires absentee ballots to be received no later than three days after Election Day. This is to allow for a timely vote count and eliminate the possibility of “finding” enough “new” absentee ballots to sway the outcome of the election. But the collusive consent order unilaterally rewrites state law to provide nine full days of uncertainty and opportunity for gamesmanship after Election Day.