Press Release: April 18, 2023
The Brunswick County Democratic Party today praised the decision by the Board of Elections (BOE) to reject a recommendation by the County Commissioners barring BOE’s involvement with private organizations.
“Today’s vote is a victory for all Brunswick County voters,” said Shelley Allen, the party’s new chair. “It guarantees the BOE and its nationally recognized staff will continue running elections in a professional, independent, and bipartisan manner, without anyone — including the County Commission — looking over their shoulder.”
Allen added the vote should dispel the notion that the BOE’s association with the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence will somehow limit the BOE’s independent, bipartisan role in elections administration. “We expect all those seated on this board, regardless of political affiliation, to present the facts vs. political tropes, to dispel false perceptions, and to support Director LaVere and her staff,” she said. “The BOE staff would not participate in the Alliance if it threatened election integrity. They have an unimpeachable track record, and shame on those who would question their integrity.”
In a formal statement filed earlier today with the BOE, the BCDP said the resolution offered by Republicans suggested without proof or documentation the Alliance was partisan. It was, the BCDP said, “a local version of a falsehood whose basis is rooted in conspiracy theories that emerged from a former president’s dishonest declarations he won the 2020 election. It represents, in fact, the arrival of ‘The Big Lie’ in Brunswick County politics.”
The BCDP said it favors an increase in funding to boards of elections statewide to give them the resources they need. In 2022, the average American county spent $17.10 per voter to administer elections. Brunswick County spent $7.86 less per voter. “When Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a resolution in 2021 similar to the one the BCDP opposed today, he said, ‘The legislature should start properly funding elections boards to ensure accessible, safe, and secure elections every time, which would end the need for [private] grants.’ We support the Governor.”