NC Republicans tried to steal a Supreme Court race. Now they’ve stolen the Board of Elections | Opinion

The State Board of Elections is not an agency most voters know about, but its decisions can affect every voter and close elections.

Voters got reminded of the board’s importance in the recently resolved race for state Supreme Court. Republican Jefferson Griffin, who lost narrowly after two recounts, asked the board to cancel more than 60,000 votes based on technical challenges involving registration and photo ID issues.

The board, with a 3-2 majority reflecting the governor’s party — in this case the Democratic Party — refused to reject the votes. After a drawn-out struggle in state and federal courts, a federal judge — appointed by President Trump — resolved the matter by ruling that the board had correctly rejected Griffin’s sweeping protests.

That brush with a potential stolen election shows why those who want fair elections should worry about the recent and legally dubious Republican takeover of the state board – and all county election boards. The change is likely to narrow access to the polls and raise the approval chances when Republicans bring tenuous post-election protests after losing close races.

The board’s takeover began with a move as aggressive as it was cynical. Following the election of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed legislation late last year to take control of the board from the governor and give it to newly elected Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek. Stein sued, arguing that the law was an infringement on his constitutional powers and in April a three-judge panel agreed by a 2-1 vote.

A week later, a three-judge panel on the Court of Appeals — where Republicans have a 12-3 majority — strangely ruled that the law should take effect on its May 1 effective date until its legitimacy is resolved. The panel heard no arguments, offered no reasoning and the judges’ names were withheld from disclosure for 90 days.

Boliek immediately overhauled the State Board of Elections. After keeping one current Republican member, he appointed two more Republicans with sharply partisan backgrounds. One is former state senator Bob Rucho, who oversaw Republican gerrymandering while he was in the legislature. The other, Francis De Luca, is a former Republican congressional candidate and former president of the conservative Civitas Institute.

The board’s new Republican majority also ousted the board’s executive director, Karen Brinson Bell, a highly regarded elections administrator and the incoming president of the National Association of State Election Directors. The board replaced her with Sam Hayes, a former counsel to House Speaker Destin Hall and a member of the Federalist Society, a group of conservative and libertarian lawyers. Hayes has no experience administering elections.

Now a provision in the House state budget proposal would add seven politically appointed positions to the elections board’s staff and provide $1.5 million for the hiring of private attorneys to fight challenges to its decisions. (Republicans don’t trust Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson to defend what are likely to be contentious board decisions.)

The deep partisan makeup of the new board contrasts sharply with Republicans’ reasons when they sought to have control over the elections board shifted to the legislature. In those instances, the Republicans argued that a politically balanced board would promote fairness in election administration and increase public confidence in the integrity of election outcomes.

Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said in 2023: “We are living in a time of intense political polarization. Having a Board of Elections that is controlled by one party only sows distrust in our elections and we must find a new approach to quell concerns that cast doubt on the fairness of our elections.”

Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, said: “We want a Board of Elections that can come to bipartisan compromise, instead of pushing partisan policy goals. Elections are critical to our democracy and any changes should be made by consensus.”

Meanwhile, Boliek, who is supposed to be an impartial inspector of state operations, has embraced remaking of the State Board of Elections in the most partisan way possible. He’s come a long way since the 2024 campaign when he said, “I think it’s really important also to understand that I believe that as state auditor you have to leave party politics at the door.”

Well, all that talk of fairness in overseeing elections has been left at the door.

Republicans say not to worry, they’ll follow the law. They say the only thing that’s changed is who has the last word on elections.

But if the change in who decides matters so little, you have to wonder why they wanted it so much.

In 2026, we may find out.

This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 6:58 AM with the headline "NC Republicans tried to steal a Supreme Court race. Now they’ve stolen the Board of Elections | Opinion."