Meet the Election Deniers in Charge of North Carolina Elections
Since Republicans took charge of administering North Carolina elections a few months ago, they have appointed local election officials who were accused of denying election results and bullying political party officials, and — in one horrific case — allegedly drugging his teenaged granddaughter’s ice cream.
The executive director of the state elections board, former legislative counsel Sam Hayes, has gotten the most attention. As counsel to House Speaker Destin Hall, Hayes helped write the bill that transferred control of elections from the governor to the state auditor —one of the few Republicans to win statewide in 2024.
That law gave Republicans the power to appoint a majority of members not only to the state elections board, but also — something that’s received less attention — to the local boards that run the state’s elections at the ground level. And some of their picks look likely to further erode confidence in the state’s election administration.
In Lee County, they chose Jay DeLancy of the Voter Integrity Project (VIP). DeLancy has pushed election-related conspiracy theories for years. He started VIP to “watch” the people counting the votes. And over the years, he has spread “voter fraud” conspiracy theories about people in North Carolina, Georgia, and other states.
https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/meet-the-election-deniers-in-charge-of-north-carolina-elections/