After Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters that this year’s post-election vote counting process is “another episode of ‘count until somebody you want to win, wins,’” the leader of the State Board of Elections has called on him to retract the statement.
Berger made the comment while answering questions about a provision in legislation passed this week that would require election officials to finish tallying provisional and mail-in ballots more quickly. He did not provide any evidence or examples of ballots being counted improperly. The bill would also shift appointments and oversight of the elections board to the newly elected Republican state auditor, instead of the governor.
Berger said he’s suspicious that some counties have been slow to process ballots and provide a final vote count. “We see that we are now, what, almost three weeks from the election, and they're still counting votes — something ain't working right.”
But in a letter to Berger sent Thursday, elections board executive director Karen Brinson Bell said Berger’s accusation is false and could lead to violence against election officials.
“This is an accusation of wrongdoing that has absolutely no basis in fact,” she wrote. “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. I fear for the people running elections in this state, including in your own community, that some misguided people will conclude from your statements that actions must be taken, perhaps through the use of threats or violence.”
Brinson Bell said the process of reviewing and counting provisional and mail-in ballots is taking place normally, in accordance with state law. Decisions on which provisional and absentee ballots are valid and eligible to be counted are being made by bipartisan county election boards in public meetings.
“You are an attorney, and you have many able attorneys working for and with you. Any of them could explain the lawful processes that play out during the post-election canvass period,” she wrote to Berger. “County boards of elections were duty-bound to count eligible provisional and absentee ballots before canvassing the election last Friday. These included ballots cast for you!”
Brinson Bell offered to brief Berger and other lawmakers on the process, and she praised the work of county election officials across the state in administering a smooth election.
“I urge you to show your fellow citizens the same gratitude, and to refrain from making baseless accusations of wrongdoing that could put these same people in danger,” she wrote. “They don’t deserve the kind of statement you made yesterday. I ask you to please retract it.”
Each county board is also handling the ongoing recount in the N.C. Supreme Court race and several other close contests. Having multiple close races this year has made it take more time to determine the winners of those contests, and it's resulting in more scrutiny on the ballot review process.
