RALEIGH — The newly seated N.C. State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement met on Tuesday to recognize the Green Party, officially appoint the county boards and appoint panels to hear candidate challenges in six, multi-county General Assembly districts.
According to a release from the State Board, recognition of the Green Party means voters now have another choice of party affiliation when registering to vote. Voters will now have the choice to register with the Democratic, Green, Libertarian or Republican parties, or as unaffiliated. Green Party candidates, chosen by convention in 2018, will appear on ballots in the Nov. 6 general election. The State Board will distribute new voter registration forms that include the Green Party as am option.
The N.C. Green Party applied for recognition in December after a new state law allowed political parties with a candidate on the ballot in at least 70 percent of the states in the last presidential election to seek recognition. The Green Party’s nominee for president in 2016, Jill Stein, was on ballots in 38 states.
The State Board also appointed four members – two Democrats and two Republicans – to the 100 county boards of elections. The names were chosen from lists provided by the state parties. These county board members will serve until at least June 25, 2019, or until their successors are sworn in. “We congratulate the 400 newly appointed county board members across the state and look forward to working with them to administer fair and accurate elections in 2018 and beyond,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, State Board executive director.
For Stanly County, the State Board appointed Republicans Karmen Mock and Sue McIntyre and Democrats Ronald Wayne Burris, Jr. and Desi Shine.
Finally, the State Board appointed panels to hear candidate challenges in six, multicounty General Assembly districts, including District 67 which includes parts of Stanly and Cabarrus counties. Incumbent Rep. Justin Burr (R-Stanly) is the subject of one of the challenges. On March 14, Beverly Johnson, vice chair of the Stanly County Democratic Party, filed a petition alleging that Rep. Burr did not live in District 67. Burr responded publicly to the petition, but will now go through the formal process set out by state law for candidate challenges. The panel that will oversee the process for Johnson’s challenge of Burr’s residency is made up of three individuals — Karmen Mock, R-Stanly; Ronald Wayne Burris Jr., D-Stanly, chair; David Black, R-Cabarrus.
In addition to the challenge to Burr, the State Board appointed five other panels:
House District 22: Bobby Ludlum, R-Bladen, chair; G.H. Wilson, D-Sampson; and Horace Bass, D-Sampson
Senate District 1: Johnny Sessoms III, D-Hertford; Alice Malesky, R-Currituck; William M. Sawyer, D-Camden; Donna Elms, R-Dare, chair; Alice Mackey, D-Hyde
Senate District 11: John Shallcross, R-Johnston; Gordon C. Woodruff, D-Johnston; Kelly Shore, D-Nash
Senate District 21: Jeff Long, R-Cumberland; Harvey Wright Raynor III, D-Cumberland, chair; Robert Vaughn, R-Hoke
Senate District 34: Alan G. Carpenter, D-Iredell, chair; Paul Mills, R-Iredell; Claude Wiseman, R-Yadkin
