NC voter of Arab descent gets confusing reply from state to her intimidation complaint
A voter of Arab descent received a confusing response from the N.C. State Board of Elections to her complaint that someone at her polling precinct asked if she knew the Constitution and the consequences of illegal voting.
The person at the Union County precinct was an older white woman, first-time voter Genevieve Hadid of Waxhaw previously told The Charlotte Observer.
As she approached the precinct at Wesley Chapel Fire Department on New Town Road to vote early Oct. 31, Hadid said the woman asked for her identification.
The woman was on the sidewalk right outside the fire department guiding people where to vote, Hadid said.
“Do you know the Constitution?” Hadid said the woman asked her before requesting to see her ID. The woman then asked if Hadid knew it was illegal for noncitizens to vote and if she realized the consequences, she said.
The woman let every other voter proceed without asking for an identification card, she said.
Hadid believed the woman was a precinct worker because she looked official holding paperwork. The experience left her “shaking,” Hadid said. “I was so upset.”
That same day, Hadid contacted Jibril Hough, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Charlotte, even though she is not Muslim. She is a 44-year-old Syrian Palestinian Christian mom who’s been a U.S. citizen since the 1990s.
She knew the center’s longstanding efforts to call out and investigate cases of religious and ethnic intimidation. Hough helped her file a complaint that weekend with the N.C. State Board of Elections.
The following Monday, someone from the board called to tell her an investigation was underway. “He reassured me they were going to look into it,” Hadid said Friday. “I was like, ‘Man, they’re going to try to solve this.’”
By Nov. 8, the board emailed her saying the investigation was over, with no further explanation.
“Your North Carolina State Board of Elections helpdesk request has been resolved,” the email read. “Please do not reply to this email unless you need further assistance.”
Hough forwarded the email to the Observer.
“I don’t know what to expect anymore,” Hadid told the Observer on Friday. “I don’t have any faith in it. They always tell you the system is broken. You always want to see the silver lining, that no it isn’t, but it is (broken). ”
The board’s email seemed threatening, she said. “’Don’t respond,’” she said. ‘Don’t call.’”
While the board wasn’t able to identify the person Hadid encountered, the case remains open, Patrick Gannon, public information director for the board, told the Observer.
“A State Board investigator spoke with Ms. Hadid on Nov. 5, and an investigation is open,” Gannon said in a statement Wednesday. “At this time, we have not identified the individual alleged to have made these statements, but we do not believe that person to be an elections official.
“Of course, the situation Ms. Hadid described is unacceptable in our elections and in our society as a whole,” the statement said.
Hough said the board’s statement is inconsistent with its response to Hadid.
“It seems to me that they don’t view the complaint serious enough and would rather ignore it or deny that it ever happened,” Hough said. “This response has been very typical dealing with officials when incidents have occurred in the Muslim and Arab communities.”
Hough said the N.C. State Board of Elections “needs to decide if they truly care enough about all the citizens of this state and their constitutional rights, regardless of ethnicity, race or religion. This response by them is unacceptable.”
NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer’s commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that sets the Charlotte region apart. Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.