ELIZABETHTOWN — The chairman of Bladen County’s Republican Party says a sticker affixed to absentee ballots has set in motion the opportunity for more shenanigans in the special election being contested.
Wayne Schaeffer addressed the county’s Board of Elections at the end of Monday’s meeting. Veronica DeGraffenreid, in attendance representing the state board, said Schaeffer’s concern is already known at the state level and was not the result of action by the county board or staff.
DeGraffenreid said an attempt was made to have a label attached so those with physical disability would be able to get their votes in, and know how they could do so. She said what transpired was a template not approved was sent out rather than the correct template.
It was not clear if all counties holding special elections — the District 3 seat formerly occupied by the late Walter B. Jones Jr. also held a special election last month — got the wrong label, or if any got the correct one. The 9th District stretches from an eastern portion of Mecklenburg County to a southern portion of Cumberland County and northern portion of Bladen County, with all of Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties included.
Schaeffer said the wording was different from a promotional piece, “Know Your Rights,” that the state board has circulated saying who can by law handle an absentee ballot.
Any North Carolinian can register to vote an absentee ballot by mail; there is no excuse or reason needed. The request form can only be signed by the voter or a voter’s near relative or legal guardian. The law defines “near relative” as “spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent or stepchild of the voter.”
The form can be scanned and emailed, faxed or mailed to the county Board of Elections.
Mailed envelopes must be signed so that signature can be compared to the signature on the voter’s registration form.
Schaeffer says the envelope’s message is worded in such a way as to essentially open the door for anyone to help, and thus create an opportunity for a “ballot harvesting” scheme. The special election is being held because of voting irregularities, with findings at an evidentiary hearing supporting accusations that Bladenboro’s McCrae Dowless masterminded such a tactic on behalf of a Republican candidate for the U.S. House, the Rev. Mark Harris.
Dowless is facing criminal charges.
The Bladen Journal, in response to a question about the sticker mid-afternoon Monday, emailed the state Board of Elections seeking clarity on what things have changed with absentee ballots since Jan. 1, 2018. Spokesman Patrick Gannon did not respond.