Mecklenburg GOP official reveals in Facebook post how absentee voters voted
The vice chair of Mecklenburg County’s Republican Party is under fire from fellow Republicans for posting absentee ballot results while working temporarily at the county’s board of elections.
Sarah Reidy-Jones is on a bipartisan team processing absentee ballots in the county. In a Facebook post, she wrote, “Jesus got 2 write-in votes so far while opening ballots in Meck lol.”
In a reply, Jeremy Stephenson, the county GOP’s co-legal counsel, wrote, “If you work at the board of elections and open ballots of voters, and then tell your friends how those voters voted, that is illegal, you know it, it is not funny. You should not work at the board of elections, nor be involved in party politics.”
Reached Sunday, Reidy-Jones told the Observer, “This is a non-story. This is ridiculous. It is doing nothing to get Republicans elected.”
Then she hung up.
County elections director Michael Dickerson called her post “completely inappropriate.” He said he doesn’t believe she would have been able to identify the individual voter. He said the bipartisan teams of one Republican and one Democrat were opening overseas ballots.
“There wouldn’t have been any identifier on the ballot,” he said, allowing the teams to identify the name of the individual voter. He said Reidy-Jones and other workers have been told again not to post any votes. She’s continuing to work at the board.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state elections board, said it’s a misdemeanor for anyone except election officials to release any results.
Dan Barry, former chairman of the Union County GOP, also weighed in on Facebook.
“True or not, joke or fact, it is not funny,” he wrote. “Elections are serious business . . . There is a sacred trust placed in the hands of employees and volunteers of the board of elections. Frankly I am surprised that the BOE would allow a party officer to be employed and serve in that role.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 2:10 PM.
