State Auditor Dave Boliek’s Republican-led State Board of Elections decided yesterday to disregard state law and override a bipartisan decision made by Wilson County’s Board of Elections.
State law prohibits someone from changing affiliation within 90 days of candidate filing, which is exactly what Wilson County sheriff candidate Bobby Knight did. The Wilson County Board of Elections decided in a 4-1 vote that he was not qualified to run due to changing his registration within that window of time. Without any legal justification, the Republican-led State Board of Elections overrode that decision and is allowing Knight to run.
“North Carolina voters deserve to know that the State Board of Elections is following the law when they make important decisions about candidate eligibility,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “Republican leadership showed how far they were willing to go when they challenged Allison Riggs’ victory in 2024, threatening to throw out valid ballots in order to change the outcome of a decided election. This is a slippery slope and a bad start for this partisan election board.”