No-Appreciation-for-Irony Department

Republicans are clutching their pearls that Kim Strach, the 2013 Republican appointment as Exec. Director of the SBOE, was replaced by a Democrat.

Yes, it was a partisan move.

But if there's one group that lost its right to complain about partisan appointments, it's North Carolina Republicans, who -- give all of us a break! -- can go sit on tacks.

Preferably out of ear-shot.

Kim Strach Will Be Replaced at State Board of Elections on Monday

Gov. Pat McCrory appointed a new Republican-dominated Board of Elections after his election in 2012, and that Republican board chose Kim Strach as the new SBOE Executive Director, replacing Gary Bartlett who had held the job for many years. Like any Democratic blogger worth his bile, I was suspicious of Kim Strach and paid close attention to her decisions. I have to admit now, with a newly ascendant Democratic Board of Elections moving irrevocably toward replacing her on Monday, that she's been a good executive director.

Oh, I criticized her for her failure to stop the appointment of Matt Snyder as local director of the Watauga BOE, and I was doubtful she could be wholly independent from her aggressively partisan husband, lawyer Phil Strach (the independence of George Conway from his aggressively partisan wife Kellyanne Conway has rewritten that template), but Kim Strach has shown plenty of even-handedness and even political courage in many matters I have followed since 2013 (the following list not in any chronological order):

The detailing of inappropriate behavior by SBOE member Paul Foley, shortly before Mr. Foley got removed from the board. 

The schooling of UNC System General Counsel Thomas Shanahan on what the college "attestation" form required for certifying student IDs for the purposes of voting. 

Her refusal to allow Stacey C. "Four" Eggers, working remotely through his brother Luke Eggers as chair of the Watauga BOE, to combine the Boone 1, Boone 2, and Boone 3 precincts into one mega-precinct with a polling location at the Agricultural Conference Center. 

Her overruling of Watauga BOE Chair Bill Aceto in the November 2017 municipal elections, when Aceto wanted the Boone 2 polling place at the Legends nightclub. Strach said it had to be in the Student Union. 

Her conduct throughout the investigation into balloting fraud in the NC-9 and her examination of witnesses at the February hearing this year.

When Governor Roy Cooper finally regained control of the SBOE, it was an inevitability that Strach would be replaced as executive director, and the news is out this morning that the Democrats on the SBOE will make that move in a teleconference Monday morning.

I'm conflicted about that, given Strach's strong record of performance, and I hope the Democratic majority choose a replacement with professional credentials and no whiff of partisan odor. Nothing less would be acceptable.

What Kim Strach Said to UNC's Thomas Shanahan on Thursday

SBOE Exec. Dir. Kim Strach

Early last week, UNC System General Counsel Thomas Shanahan -- having taken heat over his negative interpretation of his 16 universities' ability to sign an "attestation" form about using student IDs for voting, finally asked for an interpretation of the law from the NC State Board of Elections (SBOE). An interpretation by the SBOE stands as the final authority. It can only be challenged in the courts or through a re-write of the law.

Reproduced below is the three-page letter from State Board of Elections (SBOE) Executive Director Kim Strach answering Shanahan's interpretation of the attestation form. He's just wrong on all points save one. Namely:

1. Shanahan has asked: Are methods used to collect vital information from university employees (non-students) sufficient for issuing IDs? By Federal statute, info includes citizenship, date of birth, and Social Security numbers. Answer yes.

2. Are universities obliged to ask their students to verify -- prove -- their date of birth, citizenship status, and Social Security number in order to qualify for a photo ID? No. You're confusing voter registration with photo ID. Director Strach's exact words: "We do not view the statute to require the college or university to substitute its judgement for that of the elections administration apparatus whose role it is to monitor the voter rolls across the State."

3. Shanahan: What if not all students provide a SSN, date of birth, or citizenship status during the enrollment process? Don't chancellors have to sign “Under penalty of perjury"?  Can we re-write that "under penalty of perjury" part? Answer: No. There just has to be a process by which evidence of identity is requested. If you're satisfied with a student's identity sufficient to enroll him, you're good for issuing an official photo ID.

4. Are "selfies" submitted by the students sufficient for use on a photo ID card? No. Photographs must be taken by the institution or its contractors. (This ruling will affect half a dozen high enrollment institutions (including NC Central, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, Pembroke, UNC-Wilmington, and Western Carolina), which will need to change their procedures.)

5. Can an institution issue a separate and special photo ID for voting purposes if it wants to? Answer: Sure.

Burning Questions for Thomas Shanahan:

1. Will you share -- have you already shared -- this letter with the 16 chancellors? Because in the specific instance of Appalachian State University, Chancellor Everts' spokeswoman was still spouting two days ago what appear to be official negative talking points about student photo ids -- talking points that are now proven totally wrong for ASU students by SBOE's official ruling.

2. Did those negative talking points used by Chancellor Everts (and other chancellors?) come directly from Shanahan? ("There's just so many stumbling blocks to certifying student IDs for voting, and wouldn't it be okay just to send them down to the Board of Elections at the courthouse to have their photo taken and their voting ID made?") Kim Strach's letter clears those stumbling blocks (except for the issue of "selfies," which is just sensible).

3. Are you prepared to accept the reality that all 16 universities can't be uniform in their practices, and that that's okay? Only on the issue of "selfies" is there no flexibility for method and practice.

The Kim Strach letter dated last Thursday:

Some Highlights From Yesterday's Hearing

In the hearing into the contested congressional race in the NC-9, the focus fell heavily on Leslie McCrae Dowless, the man Reverend Mark Harris insisted be hired by his political consulting firm, Red Dome, to deliver the absentee vote for him. Deliver Dowlass did.

Grateful to ProgressNC for bulleting these key points:

Dowless employee Lisa Britt went into extensive detail about the mechanics of McCrae Dowless’s vote theft operation, describing how she filled out incomplete absentee ballots in support of Republicans, falsified witness signatures, and gave unsealed ballots to Dowless -- all of which is illegal. 

Britt also provided evidence that Dowless committed obstruction of justice and witness-tampering by asking Britt and other potential witnesses to falsely claim Dowless did nothing wrong. 

Britt testified that Dowless went to great lengths to knowingly conceal his illegal vote theft scheme by delivering ballots in small batches, mailing them from post offices near voters’ addresses, having witnesses falsely use the same date as the voter signed and using different ink colors for signatures. 

Britt also testified that Dowless encouraged her to commit voter fraud by voting despite being on probation for a felony. 

State Elections Director Kim Strach described evidence of a "coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme" as well as a coordinated attempt to tamper with witnesses by Dowless and potentially others. 

Strach said Dowless was paid over $130,000 by the Harris campaign and its consultant Red Dome. Britt testified that she heard Dowless and Red Dome founder Andy Yates discussing vote totals, indicating that Red Dome was aware of Dowless’s illegal tactics.
Strach said Yates has so far refused to speak with investigators, and that criminal investigations into the apparent vote theft scheme will continue after the hearing.

By the close of the hearing yesterday, it had become clear that Dowless, who was in the room all day, is refusing to testify without a grant of immunity, and his colorful attorney, Cynthia Adams Singletary, played Rudy Guiliani for the cameras, talking way too much in a way that didn't seem to help her client. Cameras like a talker.

The hearing continues this morning (in a few actual minutes). When it ends -- Gawd knows when -- the board will "vote to either certify the victory of Republican Mark Harris, call for a new election, or deadlock, which would throw the matter into limbo" (Brian Murphy et al.).

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article226263575.html#storylink=cpy

Kim Strach Overrules Bill Aceto

Yesterday Kim Strach, Executive Director of the NC State Board of Elections, overruled Watauga County Board of Elections Chair Bill Aceto, deciding that the election day polling place next Tuesday for the Boone 2 precinct would be in the Appalachian State Student Union, the most logical place for it.

The Legends nightclub in the old (very old) A&P building flooded badly a week ago Sunday and cannot be used any longer as a polling site. Bill Aceto refused to move Boone 2 precinct into the Student Union and into the same room where Early Voting has been going on for several days.

Bill Aceto suffers from the ASU Student Voting Derangement Syndrome. Aceto even proposed erecting a tent on the Legends parking lot for voting next Tuesday. Anything to keep from going to the Student Union.

But Kim Strach wasn't having it. She exercised her emergency powers and ordered that the Student Union be used instead of a tent in a parking lot.

UPDATE: The Battle to Control Boards of Election

N&O, late yesterday:

RALEIGH -- Three judges who already have ruled against one legislative attempt to take away control of elections oversight from the governor’s political party issued an order late Friday that temporarily blocks the latest law with that aim.

The steps leading up to that temporary injunction issued yesterday:

Step 1: In December, after Roy Cooper's election as governor but with Pat McCrory still occupying the office, the Republicans in the General Assembly pass a law combining the State Board of Elections with the Ethics Board, taking away the governor's ability to appoint the members of that board, and putting Republicans in charge of elections in even-numbered years. McCrory signs the bill. The real stinger in the new law: the state BOE would have a 4-4 partisan split, and local county BOEs would have a 2-2 partisan split, and the law provides that in the event of deadlock -- no majority vote -- over Early Voting plans, Early Voting will be greatly curtailed to local BOE offices only. The intent is not just to limit Gov. Cooper's appointive power; the real intent is to cripple Early Voting and ballot access generally.

Step 2: A three-judge panel rules the law unconstitutional.

Step 3: With Cooper now in office, the Republicans in the General Assembly try again to pass the same law with some minor tweaking. For example, they generously decide that Republicans will control BOEs only in presidential years, but they decide to make it practically impossible to replace state BOE Executive Director Kim Strach, whose husband has been a prominent Republican lawyer, most recently famous for defending voter suppression in North Carolina. Roy Cooper vetoes the new bill; the Republican majority in the NCGA overrides the veto. Cooper sues.

Step 4: See above.

Complaint Against Watauga GOP Filed With State Board of Elections

Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2016 3:26 PM
To: "Lawson, Joshua", Kim Strach,  "Matthew.Snyder"
Cc: Stella Anderson
Subject: Formal Complaint About Poll Observers in Watauga

Dear SBOE,

Please consider this email a formal, filed complaint with the State Board of Elections that our local Watauga BOE and Director have willfully refused to follow the directives of Director Strach's Numbered Memorandum 2016-21 as it related to Poll Observers. This in spite of the fact that it has repeatedly been brought to the Director's attention by several people that the directives are not being followed and in spite of the fact that the Board itself agreed at last night's Board meeting that the memo directives were not being followed.

The memo, which clearly addresses both early and election day voting, states that, "All observers, whether precinct-specific or at-large, may be relived after serving no less than four hours. GS 163-45(a). This means that at least four hours must have passed since the observer began serving before a replacement observer can take over from the prior observer."

Instead, at the ASU Student Union early voting site, while the at-large Democratic observers remain inside the polling location for the 4-hour requisite, the at-large Republican observers come and go at will. They are sometimes there for as little as 10 minutes before leaving. Another then takes that observer's place for perhaps another 15-30 minutes, and then the tag team continues. They are intimidating and, even Director Snyder admits, disruptive.

Yet neither our Director nor the Board will take any action to stop this clear violation without further direction from your offices that Director Strach meant what she wrote in the memo, something you have thus far apparently refused to confirm.

Now our Board is seeking a legal opinion from the County Attorney, Four Eggers, that Director Strach's memo means what it says, and I think we all know how that will go.

I know it is ridiculous that you should have to call or write our local Board and Director to explain to them that Numbered Memo 2016-21 means what it says and says what it means, and that the at-large poll observers must either remain in the polling location for a 4-hour minimum or forfeit the right of another at-large observer(s) taking their place until 4 hours is up, but clearly this is what you are going to need to do in order to ensure that our County Board follows the dictates outlined in the memo.

Again, please consider this a formal filed complaint and a request that you take action on this matter immediately.

*********

NOTE: The people Anne-Marie Yates appointed as "at-large poll observers" who are currently flouting the rules in the ASU Student Union:

Anne-Marie Yates

Nathan Miller

Margaret Eggers

Braxton Eggers

U.S. Supremes to North Carolina: "Deal With Your Own Mess"

The U.S. Supreme Court late yesterday declined to stay a lower court ruling about the illegal gerrymandering of congressional districts.

The New York Times offered the understatement of the day: "...North Carolina now faces a chaotic situation just when some voters have already begun sending in absentee ballots under the old congressional districting scheme."

Meanwhile, in Mugstomp on the Neuse, the NC General Assembly Republicans forced through their new redistricting plan and set the congressional primaries for June 7, with the new open filing period to run from March 16-25.

Apparently, when we all vote in the other primary on March 15, congressional primary races -- like Virginia Foxx's race against Pattie Curran on the Republican ballot -- will still be on the ballot in Watauga County and presumably elsewhere across the 5th District.

The State Board of Elections issued a statement last night about that: "State Elections Director Kim Strach, acknowledging the potential for voter confusion, urged people to vote for their preferred congressional candidate in both elections. “Vote the whole ballot and let us worry about what will count,” she said in a statement issued after the bill passed both chambers."

"Let us worry about what will count." Excuse me, Ms. Strach, but considering past and recent history at the SBOE, I think maybe there's enough worry to go around.

Renee Ellmers

Meanwhile, the political fallout from this mess is beginning to get interesting: Rep. George Holding, Republican, who has been drawn out of his 13th District, has already announced that he will now be challenging fellow incumbent Republican Renee Ellmers for her 2nd District seat. He might beat her, but from what we're hearing, Holding's about as unpopular with the Republican base as is Ellmers. And who knows how many of Ellmers' original primary challengers will re-file against her. Could be a crowded field, and with the "no run-off" provision, whoever gets the most votes, wins.

Republican Aceto Gets His Patsy on the Watauga BOE; "ASU Can Drop Dead"

Completely ignoring a Wake County Superior Court judge's ruling in 2014 that the behavior of the Republican duo on the Watauga County Board of Elections amounted to an unconstitutional infringement of voting rights, the newly constituted BOE last night again affirmed its partisan bona fides: On a cold day in hell will they ever approve an Early Voting site on the campus of Appalachian State University.

Nancy Owen

First off in that meeting, Republican Bill Aceto got his replacement for the gone-boy Luke Eggers ... Nancy Owen of Beech Mountain. Very quickly, the citizens attending the meeting found out why she was the Republican pick to replace Eggers: She'll vote the partisan line.

In the discussion of Early Voting for the 2016 primary election, Nancy Owen expressed the opinion that "convenience and accessibility" in voting was a non-issue for her. She also joined Aceto in refusing to allow citizen comment on Early Voting prior to their vote. She's got the partisan genes for the job, all right.

Democratic Board member Stella Anderson pointed out that, statistically, the Board should be looking at a comparable election for Early Voting stats, which would be the presidential primary of 2012. What the stats show:

1. The ASU Early Voting site had by far the most voters per hour of any Early Voting site in the county. (In 2014, when Early Voting was restored in the ASU Student Union for the General Election, that site also led all others in number of voters per hour.)

2. Who was early-voting at the Student Union? Not just students. Hundreds of faculty and staff, whose residences are scattered all over the county, often drove past a satellite Early Voting station in their neighborhoods in order to vote at the Student Union.

3. It has been demonstrated over and over that many citizens want an Early Voting site on the ASU campus. Every citizen who spoke after the board's vote last night expressed anger and regret that the board would not even consider Early Voting at ASU.

4. A report by state Board of Elections Executive Director Kim Strach found no problems with the Early Voting site at ASU during the 2014 General Elections ... despite Bill Aceto's multiple weak excuses for why he doesn't want students to vote.

Watauga County Republicans -- if they didn't hate students so vividly -- ought to be pissed at the Aceto-Owen arrogance. It's Republicans who have the hot primary race for president (Democrats too, for that matter), and many many Appalachian State staff people are registered Republicans and would appreciate the convenience of a voting site on the campus where they work.

Wake DA Reopens Pay-to-Play Investigation of Video Sweepstakes Donors

"Some members of the five-member Board of Elections expressed frustrations that campaign finance laws were insufficient to cover what might be other criminal violations. They noted records showed millions of dollars moving through Burns’ personal and business accounts, and subsequent payments and political contributions in North Carolina." N&O, yesterday

Kim Strach, Executive Director at the NC State Board of Elections (SBOE), spent two years exonerating North Carolina politicians who took $274,000 from Chase Burns and his wife, the convicted owners of sweepstakes gambling operations. Much of that money went to Governor McCrory and other Republican leaders who could have theoretically helped out Burns by overturning NC's ban on sweepstakes gambling. (The SBOE looked at a total of some $700,000 in
questionable spending" by Burns in 2012.) The politicians took the money, but they didn't overturn the ban.

"Though the elections board did not refer the report for prosecution, members made it clear that the board’s scope and legal tools were limited and that there could be room for a deeper look."

The Wake District Attorney has decided to take that deeper look:

...Strach said her investigation was unable to determine if illegal money from Burns flowed into North Carolina. State investigators were not able to interview Burns, nor obtain his federal tax records.

Some members of the five-member Board of Elections expressed frustrations that campaign finance laws were insufficient to cover what might be other criminal violations. They noted records showed millions of dollars moving through Burns’ personal and business accounts, and subsequent payments and political contributions in North Carolina.

"Millions."

Kim Strach's investigation did collect one political pelt: SBOE member Paul Foley was forced to resign in disgrace after it was revealed that his Winston-Salem law firm also represented Chase Burns. So there's that.

N&O Editorial Calls for Paul Foley To Resign From SBOE

One curious omission from the News&Observer's editorial RE the conflict of interest problem for Paul Foley in the investigation of Chase Burns' political contributions....

The N&O editorial mentions that Foley recused himself from the investigation into Burns but fails to note that the "recusal" didn't last. According to the memorandum that SBOE Executive Director Kim Strach wrote on October 10, Foley continued to press SBOE staff for details about the investigation and demanded an advance copy of the findings.

Those "findings" are supposed to be released by Kim Strach tomorrow at a press conference in Raleigh. We're all ears.

Meanwhile, just for the "conflict-of-interest" file we're sure you're keeping on your laptop, Kim Strach's hubby, Phil Strach, in one of the attorneys defending voter suppression in that federal courtroom in Winston-Salem this week. Strach and Foley both served the NC Republican Party as general counsels.

Paul Foley, far left (partly obscured). Phil Strach, 4th from right on
the dais (seated)

Key Documents in the Paul Foley/Chase Burns Nexus

Here are the key documents in the unfolding story about whether State Board of Elections member Paul Foley was funneling details about the State Board of Elections investigation into campaign contributions made to dozens of NC politicians by internet gambling mogul Chase Burns:

1. June 23, 2015, report on the investigation of Mr. Foley's activities by Senior Deputy Attorney General Alexander McC. Peters

2. Oct. 8, 2014, memo "Pending Investigation and Potential Conflict of Interest," from Kim Strach (Exec. Dir., SBOE) to Josh Howard (Chair, SBOE)

3. April 19, 2013, original complaint filed by Democracy North Carolina, calling for an SBOE investigation into campaign contributions by Chase Burns and his wife

4. March 26, 2013, Democracy North Carolina press release, "McCrory Got $70,000 from Donors Tied to Sweepstakes Gambling, Including Another Operator Arrested in Florida Scandal"

5. March 18, 2013, Democracy North Carolina press release, "Sweepstakes Gambling Operator Is Top Donor to NC Legislators; Donations with Ties to McCrory's Law Firm Raise Questions"

6. September 29, 2014, memorandum from Paul Foley to Kim Strach, recusing himself from the Chase Burns investigation

7. September 29, 2014, "CONFIDENTIAL" memo from Kim Strach to Josh Howard, "Possible conflict involving an ongoing investigation into Chase Burns and International Internet Technologies, LLC"

8. October 10, 2014, memo from Kim Strach to Josh Howard, reporting that, despite his official "recusal" from the Chase Burns investigation, Paul Foley is continuing to ask questions and demand an advance copy of the investigative report before it is made public

What We Know So Far About State Board of Elections Member Paul Foley

Timeline below based on the investigative reporting of Michael Biesecker and Mitch Weiss for the Associated Press.

The principal actors in the timeline below:

Paul J. Foley

  

Kim Strach

Chase Burns

A Key Document in the Investigation

Memo from Kim Strach to Josh Howard in October 2014

State Board of Elections (SBOE) member Paul J. Foley was fishing for information about a confidential SBOE investigation of a man who had paid Foley's law firm at least $1.3 million. In an Oct. 10, 2014, memo to Josh Howard (Chair of the SBOE), Executive Director Kim Strach detailed inappropriate behavior by SBOE member Paul Foley regarding an on-going investigation into large campaign contributions given to Pat McCrory, Paul Tillis, Phil Berger, and other NC politicians in 2012 by Chase Burns, an Oklahoma Internet sweepstakes software magnate who was lobbying NC officials to make internet gambling legal in the state. SBOE Director Strach had learned belatedly that Foley's law firm represented Burns and that Foley's law firm had been paid a large sum by Burns. Foley never disclosed his conflict of interest to Strach or to anyone else at the SBOE. When Strach learned of the conflict, she insisted that Foley recuse himself from the SBOE investigation of Burns, but Foley continued to press for detailed information (particularly about which witnesses were being interviewed). “Mr. Foley stated that he wanted a copy of the findings report sent to him immediately,” Strach recounted in her Oct. 10 memo. Strach said she again advised Foley that would be improper, based on his recusal. “Mr. Foley was not satisfied with my answer …. I was alarmed by Mr. Foley’s behavior today, and I have again cautioned staff not to address any questions from Mr. Foley regarding this ongoing investigation.”

Timeline for Understanding What's Up With Paul Foley

2012 election cycle: Chase Burns, the internet sweepstakes magnate, gives at least $520,000 to dozens of NC politicians including Pat McCrory, who is running for governor. The money is disbursed to those politicians by lobbyists for the Charlotte law firm of Moore & Van Allen, which also happens to be Pat McCrory's former employer. Checks are written on an Oklahoma bank account which is subsequently seized for containing illegal sweepstakes money. The handwriting on the checks draws scrutiny: the politicians' names filled in as payees appear to be in a different handwriting from the amounts on the checks.

March 2013: Chase Burns is arrested in Florida on felony racketeering and conspiracy charges related to a fake veterans’ charity prosecutors say was used to launder $300 million from sweepstakes cafes there. Court filings from the Florida case show that Burns’ company made another $98 million from Internet cafes in North Carolina, though the games were illegal here.

April 19, 2013: Democracy North Carolina files a formal complaint about the Burns contributions with the SBOE, which at that time still has three Democrats and two Republicans sitting on the board. Democracy North Carolina wants to know if the contributions were made using corporate, rather than personal, funds, and was someone other than the contributor directing who received the money?

April 25, 2013: A majority on the SBOE agree that an investigation of Burns is warranted and is therefore set in motion.

April 26, 2013: Newly elected Gov. Pat McCrory replaces every board member on the SBOE to reflect the results of the 2012 elections: three new Republican members and two new Democratic members. Paul Foley is one of the Republicans appointed. The Burns investigation is already underway.

September 2014: SBOE staffers, looking through documents from the Florida investigation, discover that Burns has paid Foley’s law firm nearly $1.3 million between 2009 and March 2013, when Burns was arrested and his accounts frozen (including the account used to send the half-million to the North Carolina politicians).

September 29, 2014: Foley recuses himself from the Burns investigation (but not actually). He continues to press Strach and SBOE investigative staffers for details and updates.

October 10, 2014: Strach spills the beans about Foley's conflict of interest and his behavior to SBOE Chair Josh Howard. Howard quickly requests the Attorney General's office to investigate whether Foley’s conflict of interest tainted the Burns investigation.

June 23, 2015: Senior Deputy Attorney General Alexander Peters concludes in a letter to SBOE Chair Howard that it was proper for Foley to recuse himself from issues involving Burns but that Foley has not compromised the investigation (because SBOE investigators have mainly ignored his fishing). SBOE employees told the Attorney General's office that Foley’s behavior had been “unusual” and “unprecedented.” (SBOE officials hadn’t known about the connection between Foley’s firm and Burns.) The Attorney General's office did not investigate whether Foley had leaked information to lawyers in his firm who were actively representing Burns and said that the ethics commission or the Bar Association would be responsible for addressing whether Foley had acted ethically. Foley meanwhile chooses to interpret this opinion from the Attorney General's office as "exoneration."

Former Chair of Watauga GOP Appointed to Direct Watauga Elections

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Luke Eggers
Chairman, Watauga County Board of Elections Luke.Eggers@watgov.org
RE: Appointment of a director of elections to the Watauga County Board of Elections (“County Board”) pursuant to G.S. § 165-35.

Dear Chairman Eggers:

April 20, 2015

I am in receipt of your letters describing the County Board’s effort to secure a replacement for outgoingDirectorJaneAnnHodges,whohasservedyourcountyfornearlythreedecades. Iextend to Director Hodges my sincere appreciation for her years of service to Watauga County and my best wishes to her in retirement.

You have requested that my office review the nomination of Matthew Snyder consistent with my statutory duty under G.S. §§ 165-35(a) and (b), which require that my office approve any nominee submitted by a county board of elections, provided that my doing so is consistent with other state and federal requirements, and that the nominee is not otherwise ineligible pursuant to a G.S. §§ 165-35(a)(1)–(7). As you know, the exercise of this statutory responsibility is not an opportunity for my office to pass judgment on the propriety or relative qualification of a given nominee. Instead, my office is directed to ensure basic statutory qualifications are met and then to facilitate required training and support for the incoming director.

Having reviewed your initial letter and enclosure (received April 9), your supplemental letter and enclosure (received April 18), and video footage of the County Board’s April 1 meeting, I am satisfied that the majority has sufficiently evidenced its intent to nominate Mr. Snyder, though I would stress the importance that minutes be “full and accurate”. See G.S §§ 143-318.10(e), 163-31. The nomination is, therefore, appropriately submitted to my office. I am informed your nomination process did not include a public solicitation of applications and certain members of the public have objections to Mr. Snyder’s nomination on that basis. Applicable statutes do not require an open application process and practices in this regard vary from county-to-county. Absent any finding that Mr. Snyder is ineligible, I hereby appoint Mr. Snyder to the position of Director of Elections, effective July 1, 2015.

It will be imperative that your Board stress the necessity that Mr. Snyder abstain from political activities, as required by G.S. § 165-39 and the enclosed Notice Regarding Social Media. Impartiality and sound judgment are necessary to the proper administration of elections and are qualities critical

Page 2
for every director of elections. Mr. Snyder will be required to meet training and certification requirements, as set out in G.S. § 163-35(g), and we will look forward to scheduling training for Mr. Snyder in the coming weeks. When your Board has adopted duties and responsibilities for Mr. Snyder, please provide my office with a copy.

My office is committed to working with your County Board and with Mr. Snyder to explore ways in which the State Board of Elections can support the ongoing success of elections administration in Watauga County.

Sincerely,
Kim Strach
Executive Director, State Board of Elections
Encl.: Notice Regarding Social Media (August 5, 2014)
Cc: Bill Aceto, Secretary, Watauga CBE (via Bill.Aceto@watgov.org)
Kathleen Campbell, Watauga CBE (via Kathleen.Campbell@watgov.org)
Jane Ann Hodges, Director of Elections, Watauga CBE (via JaneAnn.Hodges@watgov.org)

The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

Photo by Lonnie Webster

There are now three -- count 'em! -- three different sets of minutes about what actually happened at the April Fool's Day meeting of the Watauga Board of Elections (BOE). The Boys -- Bill Aceto and Luke Eggers -- were (perhaps) so embarrassed by their incompetence that neither of them showed up on Friday afternoon for a specially called meeting (another!) to try to fix what neither of them could ever admit were glaring mistakes of procedure.

Aceto and Eggers called in to the meeting via telephone. That's what we're now calling a public meeting of an important civic body.

Jesse Wood's coverage in the High Country Press is priceless, wherein we learn that Mr. Aceto loves the whole concept of "draft minutes," since they can be rewritten repeatedly until you get the outcome you need, or the outcome mandated by Kim Strach, the Executive Director of the NC Board of Elections, who has to put her rubber-stamp of approval on this cluster-frack.

In fact, according to Aceto in the Jesse Wood article referenced above, The Boys have been stumbling toward the light because Ms. Strach told them they had to get the appointment vote right before she could approve their pick of a political hack to run Watauga's elections.

The whole system is now corrupt, top to bottom, from the puppetry of the Watauga BOE (a wholly owned subsidiary of Stacy C. Eggers IV -- "Four" -- to the top dogs at the State Board, whose actions in regard to voting in Watauga County (their previous rubber-stamp of Eggers&Eggers' Early Voting plan) was ruled unconstitutional by the senior Superior Court judge in Wake County last fall.

Who among you can now trust the purported fairness and honesty of any vote in this county?

The Continuing Corruption of the Watauga Board of Elections

We can only assume that the falsifying of the minutes (see item, down-column) of the Watauga County Board of Elections was the final step in readying the submission of Matt Snyder's name for appointment as Watauga County elections director. State Board of Elections Director Kim Strach has the final say, and according to Jesse Campbell at the Watauga Democrat, word of that appointment had not yet reached Raleigh as of yesterday (or early this morning). Once Kim Strach has Snyder's name, she has 10 days to make a decision.

Watauga BOE Republicans Bill Aceto and Luke Eggers were in an awful hurry to get this appointment done, so rather than do the right thing -- call a special meeting and actually take the formal vote to appoint Snyder -- they chose the corrupt thing: rewrite the minutes and simply establish a fiction as the truth.

It's not the first time they've changed the minutes to suit their personal view of reality. Back at their very first meeting on the BOE, August 12, 2013, they "erased ... wide sections" of the minutes taken by the clerk and substituted their own sanitized version. That erasure made the Winston-Salem Journal.

This is a board that has been a partisan tool since it was appointed, making every effort to disadvantage Democratic and young voters. Their actions have been ruled "unconstitutional" by the senior judge on the Wake Superior Court, and that case is still moving through the higher courts.

Their appointment of a fully partisan elections director in Matt Snyder fits right into their pattern of corruption.

Eggers & Aceto: You're In a Heap of Trouble

Kim Strach

NC State Board of Elections Executive Director Kim Strach just denied the appointment of a new elections director in Duplin County. Reading the news below should alert everyone that the Republicans on the Watauga Board of Elections are in for some heavy weather over their appointment of ex-Watauga GOP Chair Matt Snyder.

In an unusual move, the executive director of the State Board of Elections is refusing to confirm the appointment of a new director at the Duplin County Board of Elections, citing concerns over the way the candidate was chosen by the local board, which includes two Republicans and a Democrat.

Kim Strach, the state board’s executive director, informed Duplin County Board of Elections Chairman Derl Walker late last week that she would not appoint the board’s nominee, Edward Hudson Jr., as Duplin elections director. The former director recently resigned.

“This office takes seriously its obligation to comply fully with state and federal laws governing the hiring process,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, the process by which your Board selected its nominee raises grave concerns that I cannot ignore.”

Strach’s letter was sent Friday. On Sunday, according to a letter provided by the state board, Hudson requested that the Duplin board no longer consider him a candidate for the position.

“May the Lord bless you in finding an individual who both you and the state consider deserving of this vital duty,” he wrote to Walker.

Circumstances around the appointment and Strach’s reasons for denying it weren’t entirely clear Monday, but documents provided by the state board provided some background. Before denying the appointment, Strach had requested from the Duplin board all job applications submitted by candidates interviewed for the position in late June, a list of the questions asked of the candidates, all notes and scoring sheets prepared by Duplin board members and any “additional items that support your position that Mr. Hudson was the most qualified candidate from among the pool of applicants considered for the position…”

Strach requested all job applications "submitted by candidates interviewed for the position." In Watauga, there were nine or ten applications. Watauga BOE Chair Luke Eggers admitted proudly last night that he had interviewed none of them, including the man he pushed forward for the job. Fellow Republican BOE member Bill Aceto said he had interviewed two and played phone tag with a third.

This should get very interesting, once Strach asks Eggers and Aceto for their supporting documents.

(Plus, O my brethren, the team of Eggers and Aceto didn't even actually -- legally -- appoint Snyder to the position ... because they don't know nor understand Robert's Rules of Order.)

Watauga Board of Elections: Give-a-Man-Enough-Rope Edition

Transparent men

Well, it is April Fool's Day after all.

Sure enough, this evening the Republican model citizens on the Watauga Board of Elections called the question on appointing former Watauga GOP Chair Matt Snyder as the elections director to replace the retiring Jane Ann Hodges. They voted 2-1 to call the question, but Chair Luke Eggers was so eager to get out of that room that he neglected to then conduct the vote on the actual appointment of Mr. Snyder. So there's that.

And this: it came out during the meeting that Chair Eggers had interviewed none -- zero -- of the almost dozen applicants for the job, including his own guy Matt Snyder. If that doesn't rise to the level of official incompetence, what would? Not to mention a blatant failure to perform even the most elementary tasks that go with being Chair of the Board of Elections. He interviewed no one. Because other men tell him what to do, what to think, where to be, and he obediently does it.

The reason is fairly obvious. He had been told by stronger and smarter men weeks ago who he would be putting into the job, so indeed ... why would he need to interview any applicant?

Minority BOE member Kathleen Campbell said it all very clearly in her remarks:

"...My fellow Board members have refused repeatedly to go forward with a search for the best-qualified person for this job. They refused in spite of the fact that this search would have cost nothing. They also never advertised the position on the County's website. Why would someone do this? There is only one reason. Because they already had chosen the person they wanted behind the scenes and were not interested in who might actually be non-partisan and qualified for the position. That's why Mr. Eggers put forward just one name, and Mr. Aceto never put forward any at all. Once another 9 people found out through the grapevine that there was a job opening, they applied for the position. Mr. Eggers has never interviewed any of these people at all -- even Mr. Snyder -- who told me last Friday that he had not heard from Mr. Eggers since he sent him a resume, right after he heard about Ms. Hodges retiring. Instead, Bill [Aceto] met with him about the job. But, in spite of never speaking to him, Luke [Eggers] had already made up his mind .... I cannot understand how this constitutes competence...."

It constitutes something, but it ain't competence.

The big laugh-out-loud moment came when Bill Aceto defended himself to Deborah Greene, who had applied for the job and who never got an interview. She said so during public comment. Mr. Aceto addressed himself to Greene, saying that her political activism had disqualified her from the job. At which point there were guffaws in the audience, some of whom apparently saw the glaring inconsistency of saying Deb Greene was too much the activist while the former Chair of the Watauga GOP, Mr. Snyder, gets off that hook scott free.

Kim Strach

What has never ceased to amaze this observer of this Board of Elections, since they took office in August of 2013, is the utter bland transparency of their every partisan move. Once again, they've plugged in their own personal neon sign for the world to see: "WE ARE PARTISAN HACKS WHO JUST APPOINTED ANOTHER PARTISAN HACK WHO'LL DO AS HE'S TOLD AND TILT FUTURE ELECTIONS OUR WAY."

If Kim Strach, Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, who has the final say on the appointment of Mr. Snyder, doesn't blush down to her designer footwear over the sheer balls of this appointment, then she too in supremely incompetent in her job.

How Does This Add To Our Respect for the NC State Board of Elections?

Kim Strach, Executive Director of the North Carolina Board of Elections, is married to Phil Strach, a Republican lawyer who's a member of the law firm defending the Republican gerrymandering of North Carolina. As such, Phil Strach has been both very active in court and quite well paid by us, the taxpayers.

Yeah, that passes the smell test (if you cut off your nose, presumably to spite your face).

A Time-Line for Understanding the Suppression of the Vote in Watauga County

Based on documents surrendered in a public records request to the State Board of Elections.

Major Players

Stacy C. Eggers IV ("Four"), attorney for the Republican majority on the Watauga County Commission, attorney for the Watauga County Board of Elections, and major power player in the Watauga GOP.

Paul J. Foley, partner in the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm in Winston-Salem and one of three Republican members of the State Board of Elections, appointed by Governor Pat McCrory on May 1, 2013.

Josh Howard, founding partner of Gammon, Howard, and Zeszotarski in Raleigh and Republican Chair of the State Board of Elections, appointed by Governor Pat McCrory on May 1, 2013.

Kim Strach, Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, who can exercise certain discretionary power independent of the State Board, including the approval of the size and location of certain voting precincts.

TIME-LINE, JUNE - SEPTEMBER 2013

Early June 2013

Stacy C. Eggers IV ("Four"), who was already the minority Republican member of the Watauga County Board of Elections and was still serving on the BOE, angled to be reappointed to the BOE as a member of the new Republican majority. State Board of Elections Chair Josh Howard noticed that Four was also County Attorney, which threw up a red flag of conflict of interest.

June 24, 2013

Republican SBOE member Paul Foley writes to Four: “Are you still county attorney in Watauga? If so, we believe this would create conflicts of interest that could affect the validity of decisions made by the board." [page 70]

June 25, 2013

Four writes Foley, saying “another member of my firm [could] handle the county's matters…. We have made arrangements to address any issues which arise involving the County Board of Elections, and the advice given on any election matters are handled by another attorney who is not connected to my office.” Four gives his cellphone number to Foley and invites him to call.

Within half-an-hour, Foley forwards Four’s email to SBOE Chair Josh Howard. Howard immediately responds: “That's no solution at all” to the problem of a conflict of interest. [page 17]

June 26, 2013

Foley emails Four and copies Howard: “Members of the State Board talked to a number of folks and after such discussions believe that having someone serve as both the County Attorney and on the County BOE is a conflict of interest and, more importantly, could jeopardize the majority that Republicans enjoy on the board in certain circumstances. The Board's required vote on this issue was this morning, before we heard back from you. However, I do not believe that having someone different within a small law firm would change this analysis.” [page 16]

The SBOE appoints Bill Aceto and Jim Hastings as the Republican members for Watauga. Jim Hastings had been listed as second choice to Four.

July 2, 2013

Four indicates he has called Foley and follows up with an email, giving Foley a heads-up that “My county chairwoman [Anne Marie Yates] is ruffled up because she wanted to be consulted in the decision to appoint Jim Hastings to our board.” [page 15]

July 13, 2013

Four receives from Foley a heads-up of upcoming vacancies on other state boards and commissions (a kind of consolation prize? for not being reappointed to the Watauga BOE) [page 13]

July 16, 2013

Bill Aceto and Kathleen Campbell are sworn in as new members of the Watauga BOE. Jim Hastings is not sworn in, telling the Watauga Democrat that he did not want the position and did not know his name had been submitted. ["Only 2 Join Board of Elections," Watauga Democrat, 16  July 2013]

July 23, 2013

Four asks Foley to help him get appointed to the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees, the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission, or the State Judicial Council. [page 13]

That same day, Foley asks the GOP state Party Chair to help get Four appointed to other boards: “Four is from Watauga County and is strongly supported by Virginia Foxx. I think you know the background here. If there is anything you can do on the ones listed below or others, I know Virginia and I would appreciate it.” Foley copies Howard. [page 36]

July 25, 2013

Four writes Foley: “My chairwoman [Anne Marie Yates] asked if I had heard anything regarding a deadline to submit the two [new] substitute names to the State for our County Board of Elections.” [For each single appointment to a BOE, local political parties are required to submit two names.]

August 5, 2013

Two days before his brother Luke is actually appointed to the Watauga BOE (see below), and a week before the Watauga BOE meeting that will take up a long list of new resolutions, Four sends Foley the proposed resolutions: “I anticipate the Watauga BOE will move to pass a couple resolutions shortly, but before they are voted on I wanted to run them by you since they will require the approval of the State Executive Director [Kim Strach] to become effective. Here’s what they [the Republican majority] will want to do: 1) Undo the parting shot of the Democrats board where they passed a One-Stop Plan on their way out the door. 2) Recombine the 3 downtown Boone precincts back into the Boone precinct. The combined precinct would cover only one square mile, and is also the home of the Board of Elections office and early voting. 3) Move two polling sites to get them out of an elementary school and out of the National Guard armory, respectively.” [page 120]

August 7, 2013

Four’s brother Luke Eggers suddenly emerges publicly at the State BOE as the substitute appointee for the Watauga BOE seat originally given to Jim Hastings. [page 74]

Four writes Foley: “I would anticipate some political grousing from the other side, so if you have a moment to review and let me know if you think these would be acceptable I would appreciate it. As you would expect, it would be embarrassing to the local party if the State Director [Kim Strach] flipped one of the local BOE’s decisions.”

August 8, 2013

Four’s brother Luke Eggers sworn in as the third member of the Watauga BOE. Luke immediately calls for a meeting of the Watauga BOE on August 12.

That same day, Four writes Foley: “Thanks for your consideration of my brother yesterday at your meeting. I don’t want to push, but have you had a chance to look over the resolutions for changes the Watauga BOE would like to make? I understand if they are to undo what the last board did about early voting it has to be done before the 19th, and they have to give notice of the meeting to make those changes.”

Foley responds to Four the same day: “Just have the majority submit the plan that they feel is appropriate. Unless something is out of whack with reality, then I don’t think it is likely for the State Board to have any issues with it.”

Four then responds to Foley: “Thanks. I’ll tell them to proceed. I anticipate that some of their actions may encounter resistance from our County Director [Jane Anne Hodges], who may be less than supportive of the new administration.”

Foley immediately responds, “If the county director doesn’t want to follow their lawful instructions, the county director will be removed.”

August 9, 2013

Watauga BOE releases its agenda for the August 12 called meeting, and the Watauga Democrat publishes it the same day, including an interview with Republican GOP Chairwoman Anne Marie Yates, who spills the beans about what is being planned: http://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/article_f9da1baf-5267-5de5-8639-b2a2ed53ffae.html

According to the paper, “Campbell, the minority board member, said she was not consulted or considered in the setting of the meeting time or the agenda. She said she was worried that the two Republican members already seemed to have planned their actions together outside her presence.” Luke Eggers and Aceto could not be reached for comment.

That same day, Foley writes to Four giving him a heads-up that there's a problem with one of the resolutions to be introduced on August 12, the resolution creating a "mega-precinct" out of Boone 1, 2 and 3: “Please give me a call at your convenience. The combining of the University precincts is likely problematic.” [page 117]

August 12, 2013

The notorious first meeting of the Watauga BOE. All hell breaks loose over the implementation of Four Eggers' many new resolutions, including the shutting down of Early Voting on the campus of Appalachian State University, the moving of a town precinct (New River 3) out into the county for the municipal elections, and the imposition of restrictive new rules on Elections Director Jane Anne Hodges. Of particular interest: the resolution to combine Boone 1, 2, and 3 into a "mega-precinct" gets voted on 2-1 despite Foley's earlier warning that the Exec. Dir. in Raleigh had a problem with it.

Bad press travels fast. That same day, Aida Doss Havel (the ex-Wake County BOE Chair) writes Josh Howard and expresses her concerns about newspaper coverage (http://www.hcpress.com/news/httpwww-hcpress-comp75448.html) of the Watauga BOE meeting on the 12^th:

“My concerns are:

1. Lack of "packet" to the Director and the member until just prior to the meeting (and the appearance that the Public Meetings Law was violated).

2. Lack of public comment.

3. Micromanaging of the director.

4. General lack of meeting management.

It will be devastating if this is repeated in 100 counties. I think you and Kim [Strach, Exec. Dir. of the State BOE] need to get out ahead of this fast.” [page 61]

Howard forwards the Havel email to Foley within an hour and says, “plz review.”

In the afternoon after the first meeting of the Watauga BOE, Four reports to Foley: “They had quite a crowd for their meeting this morning, and it was a local version of the Raleigh protests [Moral Mondays]. Fortunately, they didn't have to have anyone arrested, but they did have to read the [contempt] statute to quiet the crowd and have two deputy sheriffs on hand. Chants of 'Shame!' and snide comments from the audience were unfortunately common. We also had a visit from a fellow who stated he was an attorney named Jeremy Collins with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Based on my research, I don't think he's passed the bar yet, but apparently hopes to hear favorable news soon. Attached is the chairman's letter [signed by Luke Eggers but written by Four Eggers] regarding the reasoning behind the recombination of the Boone precincts and the resolution which was passed in case they 'get lost' between Boone and Raleigh. It is my understanding that the local Democrats are going to appeal the One-Stop [Early Voting] Plan which replaced their 'last hurrah' effort of the old board. If you need a letter explaining the changes on the One-Stop plan or anything else from Watauga County on this, please let me know at your convenience. I would hate to see this disapproved for insufficient information, because I'm afraid that would only encourage the opposition.”

Foley forwards Four's email to Kim Strach, and he forwards attachments (the other Watauga resolutions) to Howard on the same day. (These attachments were not shared with Republican SBOE member Rhonda Amoroso nor with the two Democratic members.) Foley responds to Four: “Things are going to be interesting moving forward. I have sent the information on to the folks in Raleigh. We’d probably like to have a Republican representative from the Watauga County board present at the meeting where we hear the appeal.” [An appeal of Four's Early Voting plan for Watauga was automatically triggered by the failure of a unanimous vote on August 12.]

August 14, 2013

Four to Foley, summarizing public and press reaction of the August 12 meeting: “They’ve made a great ruckus, but I’m not sure if anyone of them has actually appealed [the Early Voting plan]. If the State sees the One-Stop plan as complying with the requirement that the location is within close proximity to the County election office, as I read the statute there is nothing that necessarily requires review. If the State sees it as not in close proximity, since it was a split vote I think it would require State approval. The opposition was rather smug that if it wasn’t unanimous then the old board decision survives, which isn’t how I read the statute….”

Four asks Foley to let him know if an appeal comes through. Foley: “will do.” [page 179]

August 16, 2013

Democratic member of the SBOE, Joshua Malcolm, has called Howard to talk about the August 12^th meeting and the resolutions passed. Howard responds to Malcolm in an email: “Hey- Aida Doss Havel sent me a link about the Watauga thing and I haven't had a chance to read up on it. Let me do that and get back to you later today.” Howard later responds, “ohh, jeez, what a mess. Blame abounds for this one. I'll call soon....” [page 60]

August 19, 2013

Watauga BOE Republican member Bill Aceto meets with Four and with Nathan Miller (Chairman, Watauga Board of Commissioners) at Four’s office around noon.

August 20, 2013

Four to Foley: “I hope you are doing well. Do you know when the State might have something to help us finalize the changes that were made in our County? It would be nice to close it out and let them move on. Not that it’s really relevant, but I look for the Winston Journal to hack at us in tomorrow’s edition, and according to the other side’s Facebook page Rachel Maddow is coming down to talk to their side. Apparently one of the local activists is friends with one of her deputy producers. The Congressperson [Virginia Foxx] always said the WSJ was a shill for the opposition. Good times here. Hope you can help shut down this foolishness. Thanks for your help!” [page 102]

A few minutes later, Foley responds, “Can you do a temporary transfer of the precincts instead?”

August 23, 2013

Foley has called Four on the phone, but Four has missed his call. Four says he would consider the prospect of a temporary transfer of the precincts. Invited Foley to call him on his cell.

Foley responds immediately that he is on a plane and asks Four to call him the next day. [page 100]

August 26, 2013

Foley emails Four to question some Watauga turnout numbers. Four responds and adds, “Also, I’ve asked my brother to blind copy you on an email with the Google earth maps showing both sides of the building [Agricultural Conference Ctr, which Four wants to designate as the new polling place for the combined Boone 1, 2 & 3 mega-precinct] which is proposed to be used. I can’t imagine the State staff will appreciate the lack of candor about that issue from the other side. As an aside, the County is going to upgrade its walkway around the building to make sure it’s as accessible as possible." [page 100]

A work order was put in the next day by the Watauga County Manager for improvements “to accommodate voting traffic” at the Agricultural Conference Center. The County Manager has declined to say who ordered the work, but County Commission Chair Nathan Miller said he did in the Watauga Democrat of September 17, 2014 ("Eggers' emailsto SBOE draw scrutiny").

August 27, 2013

Minority member of the Watauga BOE, Kathleen Campbell, to Four Eggers: “I am the Democratic member of the Board of Elections and I have a question I would like for you, as county attorney, to answer regarding the minutes of our meetings. Can you give me a written opinion as to whether or not it is permissible for a single member to modify the minutes by changing the report of what action was taken?"

August 28, 2013

Four responds to Campbell, saying he can’t help her with legal advice: “Typically, the county attorney provides legal advice as requested by the Board of Commissioners, the county manager, or the various boards of the county as a whole as needed. This policy was adopted by the county in an effort to control legal expenses, and avoid expenses not otherwise authorized by the county."

That same day, in an exchange of emails on issues arising in other counties, Howard also asks Foley, “Where are you on Watauga stuff?” [page 56]

August 29, 2013

Howard writes to Foley to tell him that SBOE Exec. Dir. Kim Strach wants to release her negative decision on combining Boone 1, 2 & 3 precincts before the hearing on the Early Voting plan appeal, because she hears busloads of ASU students are coming to Raleigh. Foley to Howard: “I talked with Kim and I generally agree with her denying the permanent consolidation of the precincts. The difficult part here is that I forwarded her that proposal on August 6 and didn't hear back until after the Watauga meeting on August 12th that there might be a problem and, even then, it was just a general 'that's an awfully large precinct.' Because I hadn't heard anything from the State, I told the folks in Watauga that I hadn't heard anything back from the State, but that I believed the State Board would generally do what we could to support them.” [page 53]

September 3, 2013

SBOE Hearing in Raleigh on Kathleen Campbell's submitted minority Early Voting plan for Watauga. The SBOE votes to approve the Four Eggers Early Voting plan.

September 4, 2013

Because SBOE Exec. Dir. Kim Strach rejected the combination of Boone 1, 2 & 3 precincts into a mega-precinct, the Watauga BOE met the day after the hearing in Raleigh to withdraw that resolution. Eggers and Aceto vote instead to designate Legends as the polling site for Boone 2 precinct, rather than the Linville Falls Room in the Student Union, where the precinct polling place has been for several election cycles (Watauga Democrat, "UPDATE: Legends Chosen as Polling Site," Sept. 3 2013].

A series of emails fly following that meeting:

In a response to a forwarded email from Howard, Democratic SBOE member Joshua Malcolm writes: “I believe our friends in Watauga [Eggers and Aceto] let pride get in their way tonight with the move to Legends instead of the Linville Falls Room on the ASU campus. I don't know whether these young fellas understand there is a time to yield on things when others have better ideas.”

Howard responds to Malcolm, “good lord, this is the first I've heard-- what did they do?"

Malcolm to Howard: “They moved the ASU voting precinct location to Legends, which the Univ. stated in writing was flood prone, nonventilated etc. etc. etc. The Director [Jane Anne Hodges] recommended the Linville location as well. It was the location shown by the photos yesterday by board member Campbell as a potential one stop location. I don't understand....”

Howard responds: “me either. we'll work it out. I need to focus on my law practice for a couple of days-- let's table this until next week.”

Howard forwards Malcolm’s email to Foley: “Holy cow, what did they do? Isn't legends a bar or something?”

Foley responds to Howard: “Yeah, I think Legends is a bar on campus. The only one in the UNC system-- I think. I have never been to Boone, so I can't speak with any authority on which site might be better.” [pages 30/43]

That same day, Four writes to Foley to report on the Sept. 4 Watauga BOE meeting and to complain about it: “They had another fun crowd show up in Boone, and we’ve got another Youtube video courtesy of Ms. Campbell’s supporters…. I particularly like the scenes of Ms. Campbell arguing to her audience, showing them her pictures instead of the board, and asking the audience for a show of hands as to who supported which site….  On an aside note, the Democratic party mobilized its people against our new choice [Legends]. The director of the student union and Legends, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for county commissioner, had told me when I was on the board of elections that Legends was a “way better” site than the student union and asked Jane Hodges and I to please work on moving there…. I’m particularly disappointed in our Director, who for the entire time I was on the Board complained about all the problems at the Student Union and begged us to move to Legends. [Director Hodges says she did advocate for a temporary move to Legends some years back when the Student Union was being renovated.] …. Now, with the mob in attendance being asked for a straw poll, [Jane Anne Hodges] says the Student Union would be easier on her staff…. I’m sorry to vent to you, because you have enough on your plate, but I figured you would understand the aggravation of this situation. Hopefully, with this being the last intended move by the board, things will settle down and life can go on. I would also hope Ms. Strach would support their decision. Sorry again for the hassle, and I hope you have a good evening. Perhaps I can quit hassling you soon.” [page 194]

September 12, 2013

Bertrand Gutierrez, reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal, investigating the "digital thumbprint" on documents submitted by the Watauga BOE to the SBOE -- a "digital thumbprint" that subsequently proves that Four Eggers is the actual author of all resolutions and letters -- puts in a call for comment to SBOE Chair Howard. Howard emails Foley --Subject “ws Journal calling about four eggers”: “Largely punting and referring to you.” [page 72]

Howard to Foley, Subject “they've used metadata to ID four eggers as the author of the Legends plan.” “And the precinct thing. [The article will run] Sunday.” [page 72]

September 15, 2013

The Bertrand Gutierrez article, "One County Attorney, Two Hats: Documents Show Attorney as Author Behind Key Resolutions," appears in the Winston-Salem Journal on the front page. The article contains this passage quoting SBOE Chair Josh Howard:

"All this comes after the N.C. State Board of Elections did not consider appointing Four Eggers in June to the county elections board even though the state Republican Party had submitted his name as its No. 1 choice. The state board members considered only the state Republican Party’s secondary picks, according to various documents related to the appointment, obtained through public-record requests by the Winston-Salem Journal. 'He serves as the county attorney,' said Josh Howard, a Republican, the chairman of the N.C. State Board of Elections. 'I don’t think he can do both jobs because the county attorney often has to advise the county board of elections.' ” 

In the same article, County Commission Chair Nathan Miller is quoted: “If he [Four Eggers] wants to give advice to his brother, free and off the public doles, so that he's not taking any public money, then so be it. I'm not going to stop him from giving advice to his brother. And I don't think that creates any kind of conflict."