Editor's Note:  This report was shared first with The Wilmington Conservative by the New Hanover County Republican Party.  

Issue:  Precinct official staffing issues – overall shortage of precinct officials and Republican officials not hired by the New Hanover County (NHC) Board of Elections (BoE). 

Description: There were significant challenges for the NHC BoE to staff the polls with enough election officials during early voting. Poll Observers witnessed multiple polling places that did not have enough election officials.  There have been a significant number of prospective election officials with a Republican Party affiliation that applied to work the polls prior to the BoE deadline but were either not hired or were hired as a back-up official or not assigned shifts.  There appears to be a major problem with the BoE hiring and onboarding procedures.  It is noted that the list of officials hired by the NHC BoE for the 2024 election has not been provided despite a public records request that was submitted for transparency.  It appears that prospective election officials with a Republican Party affiliation are not being hired due to a partisan BoE.  The public cannot conduct a proper analysis of the party balance because the NHC BoE has not provided transparency on the numbers of officials hired by party affiliation, despite a public record request being submitted for this information.  This lack of transparency has a negative impact on trust in the NHC BoE and does not appear to comply with state statutes requiring party balance; NC GS 163-41 and NC GS 163-166.35.  This hiring issue also impacts future participation in elections at a time when the NHC BoE has shortfalls of election officials.  The issue of NC County Boards of Elections (CBEs) acting in a partisan manner thus limiting participation in elections by those with Republican Party affiliations was demonstrated in Wake County after an analysis was conducted by a precinct official who was fired by the Wake County BoE in 2022.¹  It appears that a similar issue is occurring in New Hanover County.

Recommendation:  The NHC BoE hiring and onboarding processes should be improved, and public transparency provided to ensure there are enough election officials and the early voting sites have party affiliation parity as required by NC State Statutes. 

Issue:  NHC BoE did not appear to be prepared for high early voting turnout this election, despite intense political party and campaign efforts to vote in the early voting period leading up to the election.   

Description: Over 97,000 voters cast ballots in early voting in New Hanover County this election, the largest number to date.  It did not appear that the NHC BoE was prepared for the large volume of early voters, despite years of pushing for increases in early voting by both political parties.  This included intense Republican Party early campaign efforts and drives, including initiatives like “bank your vote” and early voting ballot chasing strategies at the national and local level.  It is highly unlikely that this forecasted highly publicized early voting push from major political parties was unexpected.  Many of the early voting places did not have the full complement of early voting officials, despite a record number of applicants from the NHC GOP to work the polls.  Many polling places did not have enough ballot distribution officials, which particularly impacted throughput and likely limited voter turnout due to excessive wait times.  It did not appear that the NHC BoE was prepared for the number of curbside voters and did not have traffic plans coordinated prior to the election.  DS200 machines at 3 of the 5 early voting sites (Carolina Beach, Government Center, and Senior Resource Center) malfunctioned during early voting, which added to long wait times and likely impacted voter throughput.

Recommendations:  The NHC BoE hiring and onboarding processes for election officials should be improved.  Public transparency should be provided to ensure there are enough election officials and that early voting places have party affiliation balance as required by NC State Statutes.  A full review of the NHC BoE pre-election planning and preparation should be completed and changes made to ensure the NHC BoE is better prepared in future elections. Finally, the BoE has noted that they are understaffed, but has not appeared to hire additional workers.  Funding for additional NHC BoE staff must be provided.  

Issue:  Processing of Same Day Registrations (SDRs) negatively impacted voter throughput and likely affected turnout during early voting.

Description:  During the January 2025 NHC BoE meeting, it was stated that there were 2,826 SDRs executed in the 2024 election.  The procedures for processing SDRs appeared to significantly impact voter throughput and likely impacted turnout due to excessive wait times during early voting.  Voters often presented to complete an SDR without having the required documentation and would take up to 30 minutes at times to complete the SDR.  Voters who did not require SDRs experienced excessive wait times for voters who required SDRs because there was no separate line for processing SDRs.  Most of the wasted time appeared to be due to the voter not knowing what items were needed to complete an SDR. Then the voter had to find the items, using valuable time of the election official to secure the documents before they could complete the application to vote.   It became quite clear that the deadline between Regular registration and early voting is too short, punishing voters who are already registered with excessive wait times.  NHC BoE appeared to have significant challenges with the large volume of SDRs and did not have a plan to inform voters what they needed before they presented to vote using SDR.  

Recommendation:  Many states do not have Same Day Registration.  Same Day Registration is not a requirement and should be discontinued.  Voters should be encouraged to register before early voting and Election Day.  Registration should be conducted by trained officials.  If Same Day Registration is continued in future elections, the NHC BoE must establish better procedures for processing SDR voters and publish the items needed to register to vote in a visible location at each voting location.  

Issue:  Lack of restrooms for voters at some early voting sites and election day polling places/precincts.

Description:  Some early voting and election day polling places in New Hanover County do not have public restroom facilities for voters and poll observers.  In 2024 this problem was exacerbated with lengthy wait times for voters during early voting.  At the new Government Center polling place, the Site lead told Poll Observers that they could not return if they left the early voting site to use the restroom at the main Government Center building. This order violates NC GS 163-45.1(g)(4), which states that poll observers can enter and leave the voting enclosure.  It is difficult to comprehend why such a large and well-funded county government with ample tax revenue cannot provide taxpayers with adequate restrooms in public buildings during the elections.   

Recommendation:   The NHC BoE should review all early voting sites and precinct polling places to ensure there is adequate public restroom availability well in advance of elections and make changes as appropriate.  NHC BoE should properly train Site Leads and Judges to ensure members of the public and Poll Observers are not denied the use of restrooms in public facilities and are complying with all state statutes in performance of their duties.

Issue:  The NCSBE Random Selection Process uses a flawed sampling method.  No early voting sites were selected for the Sample Hand-to-Eye count for New Hanover County in the 2024 General Election for the 16^th straight election.    

Description:   The NCSBE random selection process has never selected an early voting site in New Hanover County for the sample hand-to-eye count, according to all available public records.  This is the 16^th straight election where the NCSBE has not selected an early voting site for a hand-to-eye verification count.  The John Locke Foundation completed an analysis that highlights this issue.²  In the 2024 General election there were over 97,000 ballots cast in early voting, representing roughly 70% of the total number of ballots cast.  None of these DS200 early voting machine counts were verified in a sample hand-to-eye count because of the flawed sampling method, creating a huge election integrity concern and lack of transparency.

Recommendation:  NC General Assembly Committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform should amend NC GS 163-182.1 and NC GS 163-182.2 to require a sample hand-to-eye count of all three voting categories in each county in every election, and ensure statutes permit County Board of Elections (CBEs) to count ballots hand-to-eye for transparency and verification of machine counts. 

Issue:  The implementation of Photo ID procedures for the 2024 General Election in North Carolina was very successful and should be considered a model for implementation in other states.

Description:  In the 2024 General Election, the common-sense procedure of requiring Photo ID, with ample exemptions and accommodations was successfully implemented in North Carolina.  There were no major issues and a tiny fraction of exemptions were requested compared to the total ballots cast.  According to the Carolina Journal³, there were over 5.7 million voters who cast ballots in the 2024 General elections, with only a tiny fraction of these 5.7 million voters requesting a Photo ID exemption.  According to this same article, fewer than 6900 voters (0.1% of the statewide vote) who cast a provisional ballot involved Voter ID.  More details are provided in the Carolina Journal article.  Poll observers noted very few Photo ID issues and it appears that by all accounts, the Photo ID implementation has been extremely smooth and successful.  

Recommendation:   It appears North Carolina’s successful and smooth implementation of Photo ID could be a model for other states who have yet to implement such a common-sense procedure required for election integrity and improved voter confidence.  It is also recommended that some of the accommodations be reviewed to ensure they are necessary.  The 2024 General Election in North Carolina demonstrated a very successful Photo ID implementation process with only a tiny percentage of voters asking for an exemption. 

Issue:   It appeared that roughly 1,950 absentee by mail ballots were received by the NHC BoE prior to or on election day, but were not counted until November 14, 2024, which is in conflict with NC GS 163-234 section 1.

Description:   In the final days of the election, a major issue was identified with NHC BoE procedures regarding the counting of absentee by mail ballots.  Roughly 1,950 absentee by mail ballots were received by 7:30 PM on election night but were not counted until November 14, 2024.  Obviously, this large number of absentee by mail ballots could have changed the outcome of many local contests. In addition, of roughly 8,500 absentee by mail ballots cast, observers noted that these 1,950 were not counted in the sample hand-to-eye count, which appeared to be in conflict with NC GS 163-182.1(b)(1).  Another concern with absentee mail ballots was volunteers who inspected some absentee by mail ballot containers found a significant number of containers that did not appear to have an exterior envelope, which appears to conflict with NC GS 163-230.1(d).   

Recommendation:  The NHC BoE should develop a plan that counts all absentee by mail ballots on Election Day. If this requires more resources, then the resources need to be obtained. In addition, the interior and exterior envelopes should be kept together to ensure integrity of the ballot.

Issue:  Lack of precinct sort and precinct level results for New Hanover County in accordance with NC GS 163-132.5G. 

Description:   In order for voters to have full confidence in election outcomes, accurate precinct level results from the early voting totals are required.  NC GS 163-132.5G(a) allows CBE to conduct the precinct sort up to 30 days after the election.  The NCSBE did not post these precinct level results within 30 days.  This resulted in the public not seeing the precinct level results for the November 5, 2024, election in the required amount of time.   This is deeply concerning from an election integrity perspective as there is no way to confirm accurate results without counts at the precinct level. Therefore, precinct level results should be provided to the Electoral Board members prior to certification of the official canvas. 

Recommendation:  It is recommended that the NC General Assembly Election Committee change NC GS 163-132.5 to require CBE to provide precinct level results for early voting prior to the official canvas, and for the NCSBE to report these precinct level results immediately after they are received by the CBE.  

Issue:  Prior to the election, there were numerous voters with a Republican Party affiliation who received information that a third-party group attempted to register or re-register the voter without their permission or knowledge.  Some voters appeared to be unknowingly removed from the voter registration system because a third party registered a voter with the incorrect birthday.  Some of these voters had to personally go the NHC BoE to re-register. 

Recommendation:  The NHC BoE should review incidents where voters were either incorrectly registered or removed from the voter rolls and determine why this occurred.  It appears this happened to a significant number of Republican voters. 

Issue:  The NHC BoE DS850 does not appear to comply with the following statutes and directives, including the Help American Vote Act (HAVA)⁴, Section 301, regarding the requirement to print a paper results tape:  

1. Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Section 301, para (a) requirements and para (2) audit capacity and Section 6.

2. 08 NCAC .0301, item (11), as there is no way the NCAC requirements can be verified.

3. NC GS 163-22, para (s) (new Session law 2023-140)

4. NCSBE Numbered Memo 2018-05, page 12, which states that the county board is required to sign the machine results tapes.

Recommendation:  The NCSBE should review HAVA requirements and ensure compliance from all vendors.  The New Hanover County Commission, who provides funding for the voting machines, should require compliance from the County BoE for HAVA requirements for all equipment paid for by the county taxpayers. 

Issue:  Precinct Judges do not place tamper-evident seals on the DS200 ballot bins at the closing of the polls on election night, which appears to be a major chain of custody concern.

Description:  Many states require election officials to seal the DS200 ballot bins upon the closing of the polls with serialized, tamper evident seals to ensure that strict chain of custody can be maintained from the time the polls close.  In New Hanover County, there does not appear to be any procedures for tamper resistant seals to ensure chain of custody of the ballots. The NHC GOP has requested the NHC BoE add this to their procedures to help ensure better chain of custody.  However, to date the BoE has not added this common-sense practice to the required procedures.  

Recommendation:  The NC General Assembly Elections Committee should enact legislation to require CBE to precinct judges to seal the DS200 ballot bins with serialized, tamper evident seals for all election day precincts at the closing of the polls.  This will ensure secure proper chain of custody procedures. 

Issue:  NCSBE procedures lack HAVA compliance.

Description:  It appears that numerous NCSBE procedures lack compliance with HAVA, as noted in numerous formal HAVA complaints filed in 2024 with pending lawsuits.  These complaints allege that NCSBE registration procedures, registration forms and list maintenance procedures do not comply with HAVA.

Recommendation:  A review should be completed to ensure the NCSBE and NHC BoE voter registrations and list maintenance procedures comply with HAVA. 

Issue/ Description:  In the run up to the 2024 Election and during the election process the NHC Republican Party made several public records requests (PRR) and other requests for election information.  As of this date, the NHC Director of Elections Office has not responded in writing or orally to these timely requests for election information.

Recommendations: The NHC Director of Elections should respond in writing to these requests for information to ensure greater transparency and integrity in the election process.  Furthermore, the NHC Director of Elections should secure the requisite staffing and funding to improve this process.

¹ Fired Republican Wake County poll worker calls for more partisan balance

^2. Flawed Sampling Method Means Some Ballots Are Unlikely to Be Audited

³ Ballots were not rejected in NC ‘for lack of voter ID’

⁴ PLAW-107publ252.pdf

SUBMITTED BY THE NHC GOP ELECTION INTEGRITY COMMITTEE

NEVIN CARR III CHAIRMAN, NHC GOP

DATE:  February 24, 2025