mghughes's blog

Today, the State Board of Elections will be deciding whether or not to add another site in Orange County for early voting. Jamie Cox and I issued letters in support of an additional early vote site for Orange County on the UNC campus. Both of us stressed that this is what is better for the county, not for a particular party. However, Chair Kathy Knight struck a decidely partisan tone in her response.

But this isn't about partisanship or politics, it's about fairness, because I don't stand for or support partisanship for political gain. I have previously proposed and supported election sites that members of my own party disagreed with because they believed it could benefit the GOP, but I thought those sites were viable and fair for all of Orange County. What better way to show the legislature that folks of all political persuasions oppose their elections overhaul? What better way to show that local government still works?

Below are the two letters Jamie and I submitted to the State Board, along with BOE Chair Kathy Knight's letter.

OCDP Chair Matt Hughes' Letter

BOE Member Jamie Cox's Letter

BOE Chair Kathy Knight's Letter

After reading about changes made in Watauga County, I was prompted to write a letter to the Orange County Board of Elections after several constituents voiced concerns about decision making in other counties. Below is that letter.

Dear Members of the Orange County Board of Elections,

I am writing in response to concerns voiced to me by constituents in the Orange County community after actions taken by the Watauga County Board of Elections and the Pasquotank County Board of Elections.

This week the Watauga County Board of Elections took action, which consolidated three precincts into one large precinct numbering nearly 10,000 voters and where the polling place has only 35 parking spaces. They then took action to reduce early voting to four days and eliminated early voting at the Appalachian State University campus. All of these actions were made in secret and not shared with the Democratic member of the Board, yet the Watauga County GOP chairwoman was fully aware of the coming actions. To add insult to injury, the Board did not allow verbal comment from the public, instead opting for written comment only.