RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The five-person North Carolina State Board of Elections is now down to three after both Republican members of the board resigned Wednesday night.
The NCSBE issued a statement regarding the resignation of David Black and Ken Raymond.
“We appreciate their service to the State Board, particularly the knowledge and perspective they provided from their years of service as members of the county boards of elections,” the statement said.
The resignations came just as the NCSBE agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, which sued state officials over a variety of provisions related to absentee voting. The settlement may bring changes to the mail-in ballot process, which is already underway.
The board agreed unanimously on the settlement. A judge will now consider whether to approve it.
“Voters need certainty. So, I think it was in the best interest of voters of North Carolina that we were able to provide that certainty now and make some commonsense changes, so that everybody in North Carolina can vote,” said Damon Circosta, chairman of the State Board of Elections in an interview.
The agreement calls for an easier process for voters to correct mistakes in filling out their mail-in ballot. The state requires a witness to sign that ballot, write their address, and print their name. If there’s an issue with how the witness filled out that portion, the settlement allows for a voter to fill out an affidavit and send it to the county board of elections to correct that problem. Under current rules, the voter would have to get a new ballot altogether.
Read the full resignation letters below:
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein release a statement on the resignations on Thursday morning:
This is political theater at its most destructive. The Republican Party needs to start respecting democracy, instead of undermining it.
The proposed consent order is a negotiated compromise response to the greatest public health crisis in 100 years, the USPS slowing of mail delivery, and a federal court order mandating a cure process for mail in ballot errors.
I am committed to ensuring that all eligible voters in North Carolina are confident in the knowledge that they can vote easily and safely by mail or in person — and that the candidate who wins the most votes will prevail.”
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein
