North Carolina Republican falsely accuses election workers of misconduct

President Trump says he could lose the election because of the fraud.

And a few of his supporters in North Carolina say they believe the unsubstantiated fraud claims may be true. U.S. Representative Dan Bishop, a Republican who represents part of the southern part of the state, says he has seen signs of wrongdoing in his own district.

“Well, I echo the president’s assertions. Indications of clearly inappropriate conduct by election officials right here in my district,” is part of his November 5 speech. Tweeter mentionned.

Is it true that there are “signs of improper conduct by election officials” in her district?

We contacted Bishop’s office and asked him what he meant. Spokeswoman Hannah Hummelberg cited complaints about campaign volunteers at the Anson County Single Advance Voting site, which were reported by WBTV and WFAE-FM public radio in Charlotte.

These allegations have been investigated and addressed. But the actions in question were carried out by a candidate and his campaign volunteers – not by election officials.

A brief summary

The complaints: Officials have received complaints that supporters of Anson County Registry candidate Dannie Montgomery broke the law during early voting by helping voters get to the site and allegedly the voting booth. One voter said he was specifically told to vote for Montgomery, WBTV reported.

“As soon as I pulled over and got out of my vehicle, a campaign agent came up to me and forced me to vote for Dannie Montgomery and told me not to vote Greg Eudy (the unaffiliated candidate ). As the first voter, I felt that was not the case. It’s not just for me, ”the voter said in the complaint.

What the law says: A voter can only receive help from close relatives – unless that voter has a disability. Voters with a disability can turn to anyone for help, with a few exceptions. The law also prohibits assistants from influencing someone’s vote.

Answer: On October 23, the Anson County Election Board held an emergency meeting to discuss the allegations. The minutes of the meeting show that the council warned the campaign volunteers of the future behavior.

Anson’s board of directors received and investigated further complaints after that meeting, but were unable to substantiate the allegations, according to Gina Clarke, the board’s temporary deputy director. The State Election Commission issued a press release October 31 to clarify North Carolina Voter Assistance Laws

The result: According to Clarke and Pat Gannon, spokespersons for the state board of elections, no Anson County election observer or board staff member has done anything wrong.

Unofficial election results show Montgomery losing to Eudy, the other registry candidate, and underperforming the Democrats at the top of the poll. Montgomery seems to hang around by over 500 votes. Meanwhile, Joe Biden, Cal Cunningham and Roy Cooper all lead their respective Republican opponents to Anson by at least 400 votes.

Republican concerns

Bishop has repeatedly tweeted about the Anson County allegations.

On October 29, Bishop tweeted a video of the alleged campaign volunteer in question. On November 1, the bishop tweeted a letter which he sent to senior election officials in Anson State and County. He asked them to produce a video showing the campaign officer’s actions inside the voting site.

The same day, the North Carolina Republican Party sent a letter to Sherry Melton, director of the Anson County Board of Directors.

The NC GOP noted that there had been 18 incident reports involving Montgomery and his supporters. The party demanded that alleged rule violators be banned from the polling place.

Anson’s board has investigated complaints about campaign volunteers, said Clarke, the board’s temporary deputy director. She spoke to PolitiFact by phone on November 10. Complaints filed after the October 23 meeting were “without merit,” she said.

“We looked at each of them,” Clarke said. She added: No election worker was at fault.

Important distinction

The distinction between campaign volunteers, who greet people outside of polling stations, and actual election officials, who organize elections and count ballots, is important.

We pointed out to Bishop’s office that his tweet omitted this key context and asked if Bishop was aware of any direct misconduct on the part of Anson County election officials.

Hummelberg, the spokeswoman, said the congressman “is simply suggesting” that county election officials “allowed” campaign workers to “button up voters in the buffer zone, accompany them into the compound. and in the voting booth, and directing them. how to vote. “

As we mentioned: County and state councils have handled complaints – but not in a way Bishop or the state government would have preferred. Anson officials held an emergency meeting, issued warnings and investigated the complaints, while the state’s election board issued a press release.

Our decision

Bishop said there were “indications of grossly inappropriate conduct on the part of election officials right here in my district.” His spokesperson spoke of complaints about campaign volunteers outside a polling station.

Complaints have been filed against Anson County campaign volunteers, accusing them of trying to force people to vote in a certain way. And Bishop believes local election officials haven’t done enough to stop campaign volunteers from unduly helping voters with their ballots.

But the North Carolina Board of Elections said it was not aware of any direct misconduct on the part of Anson County election officials. We rate this statement as False.