In Collusive Settlement with Other Democrats, Dem-Controlled Board of Elections Agrees to Rewrite Absentee Ballot Law to Make Ballot Harvesting Easier

Sen. Berger: “If approved, this action undermines any confidence in the Board of Elections’ intent to fairly conduct this election”

Board of Elections has agreed with “opposing” party in lawsuit funded by DC Democrats to ignore NC law, eliminate ballot witness requirements, and allow anonymous drop boxes for ballot harvesters

Move directly contradicts NC law

Raleigh, N.C. — The unelected N.C. Board of Elections colluded with the “opposing” side of a lawsuit funded by national Democrats and agreed to a consent order that violates North Carolina’s election laws. The maneuver, if approved by a Democratic judge, will undo legislation passed by a near-unanimous General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.

The collusive arrangement permits anonymous absentee ballot drop boxes and subverts requirements for witnesses to be identified on absentee ballots. These rules were put in place in response to large-scale absentee ballot fraud that caused elections officials to throw out the results of a 2018 Congressional election.

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said, “Can you imagine the reaction if President Trump and Attorney General Barr went into a backroom and rewrote election laws weeks before the election? I cannot overstate how unethical this collusive behavior is. The Board of Elections, which is controlled by Gov. Cooper and acting through its lawyer, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, went around the legislature and agreed with Democratic plaintiffs to undo basic election laws passed to prevent a repeat of actual absentee ballot fraud.”

Berger continued, “If approved, this action shatters confidence in the Board of Elections’ intent to fairly conduct this election. We knew they would play around on the margins to give Democrats an edge, but this is a full-frontal assault on election integrity laws passed after widespread absentee ballot fraud undid the results of the 2018 Congressional election.”

Democratic Party lawyer Marc Elias sued the General Assembly and the Board of Elections to undo absentee ballot fraud protections passed by a near-unanimous General Assembly. The Board of Elections has now secretly agreed to this collusive settlement with the Democratic plaintiffs.

The settlement laughably goes before Judge Bryan Collins. (Judge Collins issued a ruling last year, since reversed by a higher court, that the entire legislature was a “usurper body.”) 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.