https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article241887126.html
Phil Berger statement on NC mail-in voting
BY PHIL BERGER
There’s no question we need to look at consensus actions that will prepare our state for the possibility of voting during a pandemic. Though every eligible voter should have access to the ballot, no voter is rewarded by a system that is insecure and vulnerable to fraud.
In 49 states, there’s a hypothetical tension between ballot access and election security during this crisis. But in North Carolina, it’s not hypothetical: We had to redo a Congressional election less than two years ago because of absentee ballot fraud. Any honest observer of North Carolina politics will concede that 2018 was almost certainly not the first time that type of activity took place in that part of the state, nor that it was confined to just one political party over that time.
The Senate unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Democratic senator Floyd McKissick to tighten our absentee ballot laws. I do not think it is responsible to go back to the way things were when we know exactly what happened under those old rules. It is not a hypothetical: Absentee ballot fraud happened here, and it’s likely to happen again if we roll back our laws.
This debate is also complicated by the distrust that exists between the legislature and the new partisan Board of Elections. We wanted a strictly bipartisan Board of Elections with equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, but Governor Cooper fought fiercely to obtain full partisan control over the elections machinery in this state. And he’s now on his fourth partisan Chairman of the Board of Elections after his previous appointees left for a variety of reasons, including overt partisan activity.
More concerning, after the Governor achieved partisan control of the Board, they summarily fired the previous Executive Director who led the investigation into the 2018 absentee ballot fraud. That does not instill confidence in a neutral, apolitical Board.
All of this raises natural and legitimate suspicions about the motives of the Governor and the Board he controls. Those same suspicions raise alarm bells at the prospect of a partisan Board of Elections controlling a process in which they ostensibly send ballots to every voter. There is zero trust that this process would be fair and transparent. Just look at the cast of characters on the Board appointed by the Governor who have had to resign. Again, none of this instills any confidence or trust.
All of this distrust and suspicion stems from the Governor’s no-holds-barred fight for partisan control of elections administration, and it’s unfortunate. Still, I’m hopeful we can reach consensus on this issue as we have on others during this crisis.
Good thread by Jeff Jackson.