ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County’s “other” election problem, subpoenas requested by federal immigration agents in election fraud investigations, still hasn’t gone away.
State attorneys continue to talk with federal prosecutors about the subpoenas issued late last summer. Because of the scope and timing near the general election, time was granted for responses.
Since then, Bladen and Robeson counties have come under scrutiny in accusations of ballot fraud. That’s the probe that involves the unresolved District 9 seat in the U.S. House, and Bladenboro’s McCrae Dowless.
The two investigations, so far, have not been linked.
The State House elections committee sought an update this week from Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, and Kim Strach, the director of the state Board of Elections. Laura Brewer, a spokeswoman for Stein, said he is seeking to support law enforcement and preserve the sanctity of the voting booth.
In August, Bladen and 43 other counties in eastern North Carolina — a defining line stretching from South Carolina to Virginia, with the western edge formed by Robeson, Cumberland, Harnett, Wake and Granville counties — were asked to hand over voting records. They were sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in what was thought to be a signal that the U.S. attorney in Raleigh would be prosecuting more illegal voting by people who are not American citizens.
Bobby Higdon’s office had said two weeks earlier that 19 foreign nationals were charged with registering to vote or casting ballots illegally because they were not U.S. citizens. More than half were indicted by a grand jury in Wilmington.
The initial request, the state elections board estimated, was for more than 20 million documents by Sept. 25. Ballots, poll books and voter authorization forms are being sought over the past five years from county election boards.
State board lawyer Josh Lawson said the subpoenas were the most exhaustive on record. He further said, at the time, compliance would affect the ability of county administrators to perform tasks with the election and early voting.
The state board members at the time, no longer together because their makeup was deemed unconstitutional, were collectively opposed to the request. Calls were made to the U.S. Justice and Homeland Security departments to investigate the reason for the requests and their legality by some of the state’s members of Congress.