North Carolina election experts praise bipartisan hurricane response, encourage patience for accurate vote count.Panel emphasizes respect for election officials as “people and voters, too.”
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (October 18, 2024) – Several prominent election law authorities and administration experts highlighted the bipartisan cooperation at county and local levels in response to Hurricane Helene during an online event of the Election Overtime Project. Election Overtime is a bipartisan initiative of the Election Reformers Network to help voters understand the rules that matter when elections are close or challenged in court. The event, “Preparing for North Carolina Election Overtime,” was covered by Fox News affiliate WGHP in Greensboro, NC, on FOX8 News at Noon, October 18th. The fifth in a series of election media briefings, the webinar featured former North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, former chair of the North Carolina State Election Board Damon Circosta; Moore County Elections Director Towanna Dixon; North Carolina Democracy Resilience Project Co-Lead Jennifer Roberts; ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson and ERN Vice President Heather Balas. Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr praised the bipartisan effort to make election changes in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. “We have an incredible bipartisan effort on the local [election boards] and the state board,” said Orr. “Changes have been made in 26 affected counties, and there have been rumblings that perhaps they are messing with the elections. But these have all been unanimous bipartisan decisions by Republican and Democrat board members to implement these changes, and the people who are looking for some sort of political undermining need to look at the way these two political party appointees worked together.” Jennifer Roberts, who served as a four-term Mecklenburg County Commissioner and Mayor of Charlotte, agreed with Orr’s assessment. “The system is bipartisan by design,” she said. “There are lots of checks and balances, and people can be assured it is safe and secure.” Damon Circosta emphasized the importance of outlining expectations for the voting public on election night, including that election night results are always projections and final results take time. “One thing to be very clear about is when you see results on election night, those are not official,” said Circosta. “We do the best we can to provide information to the voting public as quickly as possible, but no election administrator takes an oath to get the election done fast. They take an oath to get the election done right.” Towanna Dixon, who has also served as election administrator in Hoke County, underscored the humanity of election officials and how they are incentivized to report accurate results. “I think people forget that we are people and voters, too,” said Dixon. “This is our job, and we won’t do anything to jeopardize the election, the integrity, or the commitment to our job because this is our job. Why would we do anything to jeopardize our job, which is taking care of our families? I wish that voters and the media would understand that. We aren’t perfect, and sometimes we will make mistakes, but the bottom line is that we want to do it right.” The Election Overtime Project is a comprehensive set of resources that includes litigation monitoring, guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes, and judicial procedures. It also offers an extensive speakers bureau to connect journalists with expert commentary for local and national coverage. The program focuses on Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. ERN Executive Director Kevin Johnson explained: “This project was born out of a vision that if Americans know more about how elections work, how results are verified, how systems include transparency throughout, and how courts judge election challenges based on evidence, then voters, knowing all that, will be more trusting of the outcomes. They’ll also be less vulnerable to misinformation and less inclined to think they have to take elections into their own hands, which is the path to political violence.” Early voting began in North Carolina on Oct. 17, and despite the media attention, panelists say the long lines in some polling locations indicate enthusiasm for voting, not an access problem. “The morning news would lead viewers to believe that those big, long lines on the first day of early voting are a problem,” said Balas. “But we’ve had great affirmation on this panel that voters have time to get through, that our elections are functional, and hopefully, those messages are communicated to them by the media.” Materials under this program have been produced with the generous support of The Carter Center, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the Bridge Alliance. The contents are the responsibility of the Election Reformers Network and do not necessarily reflect the views of its funders. NORTH CAROLINA NETWORK FOR SAFE, FAIR & SECURE ELECTIONS The North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe, and Secure Elections is a cross-partisan initiative working for a more peaceful North Carolina where everyone can participate and have their voices heard. Visit nctrustedelections.org to learn more. ELECTION REFORMERS NETWORK The Election Reformers Network advances election innovations that protect democracy from polarization. ERN favors neither the left nor the right and advances policy change to ensure the institutions running U.S. elections are as impartial as possible.
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