A top leader is claiming the opposing party is trying to steal an election in North Carolina. And no, it’s not President Donald Trump.
At Saturday’s Democratic Party Unity Dinner, Gov. Josh Stein chastised state GOP lawmakers for passing a bill in late 2024 that stripped the governor of the ability to appoint state and county election board members. Stein said Auditor Dave Boliek, who now holds those powers, and his former election liaison, Dallas Woodhouse, pressured local election officials to curb Sunday voting and reject voting plans that included certain college campuses.
Stein also criticized a rule the State Board of Elections’ conservative majority approved last month making it easier to reject ballots cast by voters seeking an exemption from the state’s photo ID law. In previous elections, county election board members needed to vote unanimously to deny someone’s request. The new rule would enable county election board members to deny the exemption with a majority vote.
“They’re trying to make it harder for folks to vote and easier for them to throw out votes after the fact on a partisan basis,” Stein told attendees on Saturday. “But you want to know how they cannot steal an election? When we turn out in droves and kick their tails.”
Stein’s remarks were a notable escalation, since he is usually measured with his words. But they reflect a growing feud between him and Boliek.
NCSBE Executive Director Sam Hayes declined to comment on Stein’s remarks, as did Boliek.
But the auditor has recently tangled with the governor on social media over a bill advancing in the legislature this week that would allow the auditor to perform post-election audits of election systems. Stein said the provision “invites the auditor and state board to sow mistrust in our elections.”
Boliek quipped back on X, “What sows mistrust is a partisan governor that chooses political posturing over constructive dialogue.”
Stein is urging lawmakers to oppose the bill, citing a provision he says “makes it harder for people to vote and easier for partisans to throw out votes after the election is over when they don’t like the results.”
Stein’s remark suggesting Republicans would try to “steal” the November election runs counter to the confidence he and other prominent Democrats expressed in North Carolina’s election system after the March primary.
U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross wrote on Facebook last month, “North Carolina’s elections are safe, fair, and secure. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”
Stein told reporters at a March news conference, “One great thing about our system is it has a lot of failsafe methods to ensure accuracy.”
The NCSBE posted on its Facebook page at the time, “Thank you Governor Josh Stein for stating your confidence in the accuracy of our state’s elections system.”
