How Wilmington, North Carolina Election Directors Ensure Free and Fair Elections

Sarah LaVere takes election integrity seriously. That’s why she made the difficult decision in 2020 to challenge her mother’s ballot.

LaVere, who works as Brunswick County’s elections director, recalled that 2020 was a busy year. On top of a heated presidential election and the COVID pandemic, LaVere faced a personal crisis—her mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor.

“2020 has been like a whirlwind,” LaVere said. “My mother got sick on Mother’s Day and then passed away in October, right in the middle of the presidential election season.”

Sarah “Ann” Ashcraft, LaVere’s mother, was a Brunswick County resident who submitted an absentee ballot that was returned to the board of elections in September. But Ashcraft didn’t get to see how the election ended. She died in October, and under state law, her vote could not be counted because she died before Election Day.

“I knew right away that I needed to make sure that this issue was challenged and removed,” LaVere said of her mother’s ballot.

Although the experience was “surreal” and emotional, she knew she did the right thing.

“The last thing I needed was for someone to take hold of this — that I allowed that voice to remain — and use it to discredit our work,” she said.

But while her case was unique, LaVere, who currently serves as president of the North Carolina Association of Election Directors, notes that local election officials work every day to ensure Wilmington-area residents have free and fair elections.

More eyes and IDs

The issue of election integrity has come to the forefront following the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, which showed the country divided between two major parties: Republicans and Democrats.

The 2020 presidential election process occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, many, like LaVera’s mother, decided to vote by absentee ballot, causing then-President Donald Trump and many others to question the legitimacy of absentee voting. process. Many began to doubt the integrity of this process.

Four years later, little has changed in election methods.

“Votes will be counted the same way they were counted during the 2020 general election,” Pender County Elections Director Greg Jackson said in an email.

But there is one big change for voters.

“The most significant change is the introduction of a voter photo ID requirement,” Rae Hunter-Havens, New Hanover County elections director, said in an email.

LaVere noted that while the process of tabulating and counting ballots has not changed, more people are paying attention to the process.

“Whereas before, if someone came to our election day meeting or one of our absentee board meetings, it was a shock, a pleasant surprise – you know, we like people to see what we do – but now, pretty consistently we have at least a few members of the public who look at this from an election integrity standpoint who attend all of our board meetings and observe what we do,” LaVere said.

Election officials welcome the extra attention. When it comes to transparency, much of the election process, including machine testing, ballot counting, canvassing and all meetings, is open to observation by members of the public.

“I really like it when people want to understand what we do because I would rather have someone come and see it in person and ask questions than assume they know what we do behind the scenes,” LaVere said .

As for observers, Laver said the public has not interfered with the process, thanks in part to clear rules. For example, members of the public are not allowed to ask questions while ballots are being counted, and they cannot comment on decisions made by the election commission about ballots. The biggest challenge is simply making sure there is enough space to accommodate the public.

No ID, no vote? Not really

In addition to putting more emphasis on the process, North Carolina has begun requiring all voters to show identification before their ballots are included in the official count.

“All voters will be asked to present a photo ID when voting. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID,” Hunter-Havens said.

The three exceptions to presenting a photo ID include: the voter must have a “reasonable impediment” to presenting the photo ID, the voter has a religious objection to being photographed, or the voter is the victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day that results in to a declaration of disaster by the President of the United States or the Governor of North Carolina.

According to the State Board of Elections website, county election officials must count reserve ballots with properly completed exception forms for identification.

As a result of the new law, some election officials have noticed an increase in the number of provisional ballots cast. Jackson noted that free identification cards are available from local elections offices and North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles offices.

Some election officials say voter ID laws have helped ease some concerns about election integrity.

“I definitely think for those who are concerned about the integrity of the election, when I talk to them and they find out that North Carolina has a photo ID requirement, it definitely makes the process easier for them,” LaVere said.

The process helps solve emerging problems

While there are laws to prevent voter fraud and ensure free and fair elections, sometimes these laws are broken by well-meaning voters. One of the problems that happened several years ago was that residents from other areas were voting on Bald Head Island where they had a second or vacation home.

While this is not such a big problem in federal elections, it can become a real problem in municipal elections. Property owners in coastal towns may want to have a say in who makes decisions in that town, they may be inclined to register and vote just in this election, but that is not the case.

Under North Carolina General Statute 163-57, voters must use their “permanent” home as their place of residence. It is defined as a place to which “whenever that person is absent, he intends to return.” It further states that one cannot claim two residences for voting purposes.

When people break the rules, there is a system in place to correct it. Residence issues are resolved through voter challenges. According to state statute, “any registered voter of a county may challenge the right of any person to register, remain registered, or vote in such county.” These issues are resolved by county election officials and heard by the county election commission.

Although residence does not matter as much during presidential elections, voter turnout in presidential elections is much higher than in municipal election years, meaning that many eligible voters only participate in the process once every four years.

“So they don’t really understand what the rules are, where they should go to vote and what to expect,” LaVere said.

That’s why state and local election officials urge voters to check their voter registration and polling place before heading out to vote. This can be done by visiting the North Carolina State Board of Elections website at ncsbe.gov and clicking on “Check Registration” located under the “Registration” tab.

Directors are committed to fair elections

When it comes to preparing for Election Day, elections directors across the state have been hard at work for months.

“We begin preparations for the presidential election during the first six months of the previous odd-numbered year and continue these efforts throughout the two-year election cycle to the extent possible given the number of elections scheduled during that period,” Hunter-Havens said. .

Since January 1, 2023, local election boards have held three elections: municipal, 2024 primaries, and 2024 runoff primaries. For several months the councils have been busy preparing for the presidential elections. Preparations included testing each voting machine, printing ballots, mailing absentee ballots and training poll workers.

“Planning and preparation for a presidential general election requires enormous effort,” Hunter-Havens said.

Despite all the preparations, unexpected problems may still arise. This happened during the Pender County primary in March. Jackson explained that problems with laptops forced them to switch to a paper system, which delayed results. But he noted that they have made changes to ensure that doesn’t happen this time.

“We have handed over our laptops to our IT department and will use their expertise to successfully update and prepare them for the general elections; just like they did during May Junior High School where we had no problems,” he said.

LaVere said one of the most important things people need to remember is that the people who work for local election offices and help at the polls are regular people.

“We live in your community,” LaVere said. “We are your neighbors. You probably see us at the grocery store or at the beach. We are just like you. We just have a job to do, which means we run elections. When people say we don’t have integrity or that they can’t trust what we do, it’s a little unsettling.”

For those with concerns, LaVere invites them to come to the meeting and observe.

“Everything we do is transparent,” she said.

LaVere noted that sometimes the process doesn’t generate much interest, such as when they do logic and accuracy testing on every voting machine before Election Day.

“So every day, eight hours a day, you can see us testing voting machines,” she said. “This is the most boring event to watch, but it exists if anyone really wants to know what steps we’re taking and whether we have bipartisan representation. It’s there if anyone wants to see it.”