Opinion
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Elections board ouster
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Published: August 7, 2009
The state Board of Elections should rescind its decision not to reappoint Eric Elliott to the Forsyth County Board of Elections. Elliott apparently ran afoul of the state board because he disobeyed two of its directives in the days leading up to the November election. But Elliott, a board chairman respected by both Republicans and his fellow Democrats, acted only after consulting with the county attorney's office and determining that to obey the state board's directives would have meant breaking the law and changing election rules in the middle of an election.
"In each instance, in your capacity as chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Elections, you responsibly sought the prior legal advice of the Forsyth County Attorney's Office as you had been previously instructed to do by the state Board of Elections," County Attorney Davida Martin wrote in a July 31 letter to Elliott. "In addition, you made every effort to uphold and comply with the law consistent with your oath of office."
The state board supervises local election boards, including by appointing their members. That's the law that the local boards must accept.
But we have questions about Elliott's ouster. He was endorsed by the local and state Democratic executive committees for reappointment to the board. The elections board rubber-stamps most such choices. But of 98 counties that submitted endorsements, Elliott was the only Democrat whose appointment was not approved.
Elections officials are saying little. But the incidents that occurred in the November election appear to be behind the ouster. Fleming El-Amin, the chairman of the local Democratic party, said yesterday that Gary Bartlett, the state elections director, told him that Elliott was not reappointed because of his decisions not to comply with their directives.
About midway through the early voting period, state elections officials told county boards to distribute handouts informing voters that a straight-party vote did not count in the presidential election. The Forsyth board decided not to change procedures, with Elliott joining Republican Jerry Jordan for a 2-1 majority. As Martin noted in her letter, changing procedures would have created two classes of voters, those who had received the additional instructions and those who hadn't.
Shortly before early voting was to close, the state officials told the county boards to immediately hold meetings to discuss extending early voting hours on Nov. 1, the Saturday before the election. The Forsyth board scheduled such a meeting, but allowed time for the mandatory 48-hour public notice for public meetings. That notice is required except in case of emergency. The local board decided it had that emergency when the state board threatened to take legal action that could have removed all the board's members. The local board held a meeting at which it voted to extend voting hours on Nov. 1, as the state wanted.
Local chairmen and chairwomen better have good reasons when they challenge the state board. Elliott did. "I think he was following the law," Jordan, a lawyer, said. "I think the state Board of Elections was the one who was contrary to the law."
A Sept. 15 primary is fast approaching. The county Democratic Party is trying to get the state board to reconsider its decision, and readying other names to submit if the board won't rescind. It shouldn't come to that. The state board should put Elliott back on the county board.
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