Senate leader Phil Berger takes a disappointing turn toward election denial | Opinion

For all of our disagreements with North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, we’ve been grateful that he has at least avoided the political temptations of conspiracy theories and election denial when so many others in his party have not.

Until now.

While speaking with reporters this week, Berger suggested that the vote-counting process in North Carolina is rigged in favor of Democratic candidates. Without citing any evidence or mentioning specifics, Berger said the process is simply “another episode of ‘count until somebody you want to win wins.’”

We’re disappointed to see the most powerful Republican in North Carolina cross over into election denier territory simply because it yielded a result he does not like. It’s an especially unfortunate step because it’s coming from someone who has long resisted this kind of rhetoric.

Berger’s remarks came as Republicans have expressed frustration about the race for the N.C. Supreme Court, which is currently undergoing a recount. Despite trailing on election night, Democrat Allison Riggs took the lead over Republican Jefferson Griffin after all outstanding absentee and provisional ballots were counted — a process that took many days. In response, GOP lawmakers have already begun to vote on legislation that election officials say could make it impossible to ensure all votes are counted in future elections.

Karen Brinson Bell, who leads the North Carolina State Board of Elections, urged Berger to retract his comments in a letter, telling him that his accusation has no basis in fact and could lead to threats of violence against election officials.

“This is an accusation of wrongdoing that has absolutely no basis in fact,” Bell wrote in the letter, which was first reported by WUNC. “You are a top leader of our state government. What you say matters. When you tell your fellow citizens that an election is being conducted fraudulently, they listen.”

Bell gently chastised Berger for seemingly questioning the integrity of election officials and reminded him that, in 2020, lies about a “stolen” election put those officials in danger.

We agree.

Berger is smart enough to know how elections work. He knows that counting outstanding ballots takes time, and he likely also knows he has no evidence to support the claim he is making. He knows that election officials were simply following state law. And he should know what the law says, because much of it was written by Berger and his colleagues.

That’s why it’s so disappointing to see him ignore all of that in favor of divisive rhetoric that could lead North Carolina down a dangerous path. If the vote-counting processes had yielded more votes for Republicans than Democrats, would he have the same reaction?

We hope Berger’s remark was made out of frustration and not a more insidious desire to cast genuine doubt on the results of a legitimate election. We also hope Berger will publicly retract his comments, or at least walk them back unless he can produce definitive evidence that wrongdoing occurred at a scale large enough to influence the outcome. We hope this not just for the reasons Bell mentioned, but also because we just don’t want to see our state leaders take voters there. Words like Berger’s aren’t merely an off-hand comment to reporters — they carry weight and meaning when coming from one of our state’s most powerful figures.

Phil Berger seemed to realize that up before this week. North Carolina needs him to remember it again.