2 Republicans resign from the North Carolina elections board over a mail ballot extension.
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Version 0 of 1. The two Republicans on the North Carolina Board of Elections resigned in protest late Wednesday, after elections officials on Tuesday agreed to extend the deadline for receiving mail ballots in North Carolina by six days. In their letters of resignation, the two Republicans, Ken Raymond and David Black, both claimed they had been misinformed about the settlement that had extended the deadline for ballots to be counted. Justin Clark, President Trump’s deputy campaign manager, called the resignations a “courageous stand against the egregious and collusive settlement agreement their Democrat counterparts created that would significantly rewrite North Carolina’s election law — 40 days out from Election Day.” Mr. Clark also accused “liberal activists” of trying to “rig” the election. In North Carolina, where polls show Mr. Trump tied or narrowly trailing Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Trump campaign has mounted an assault against the integrity of the state elections board. Mr. Clark accused Democratic activists of suing “to move Election Day even further out so they can harvest ballots after the polls close to steal the election for Joe Biden.” A group called the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans had sued the state last month demanding changes to election rules to account for mail delays and accommodate voters fearful of the coronavirus. In an agreement settling the lawsuit that was signed on Sept. 22, the state elections board acceded to several of the group’s demands. Under the settlement, ballots postmarked by Election Day will be counted if they are received by Nov. 12 — six days after the previous deadline. In addition, voters who make mistakes on their mail-in ballots, like missing signatures or addresses, may correct those errors until Nov. 12. Drop boxes for mail-in ballots will be set up outside early voting sites and at county elections offices. The agreement was immediately criticized by the state’s Republican lawmakers and Trump campaign officials, who indicated that they planned to continue a legal fight to overturn it — and that they would pursue similar legal strategies in other battleground states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Michigan, where judges could extend the period during which votes can be counted. North Carolina, which Mr. Trump won by four percentage points in 2016, is critical to his re-election, especially as his polling numbers have recently slipped in the industrial Midwest, and advisers are increasingly worried about his chances in the state. |