03/27/2024
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By Charlotte Smith

The North Carolina State Board of Elections held an in-person public meeting today at 11:00 a.m. The meeting was held in the Utilities Commission boardroom on the second floor of the Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC.

The Board members found probable cause to hold hearings in regards to formal complaints filed against two Bladen County Board of Elections members. The new complaints filed by Ms. Jane Pait of White Oak were received on November 26, 2019 by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

The complaints were against, Bladen County Board of Elections Chairperson Louella P. Thompson of Clarkton and fellow board member Mrs. Patsy Sheppard of St. Pauls. The complaints Ms. Pait filed were similar to complaints filed against the same two board members in October of this year by Bladen County Republican Party Chairperson, Wayne Schaeffer.

Ms. Thompson’s hearing was held at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon and Mrs. Sheppard’s hearing was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. The two plaintiffs listed in the complaints, Ms. Pait and Mr. Schaeffer, were present at the meetings today.

Ms. Thompson’s hearing ran over the scheduled time, however, a decision in each hearing had been made by around 2:30 p.m. The State board, in a four to one (4-1) vote in each hearing, dismissed the complaints against the two Bladen County Board of Elections members. No new evidence against the officials was cited as the grounds for dismissing the complaint against the two officials. You may find information about the complaints in the BladenOnline.com previous article:

Round 2: Bladen County Board of Elections members face another official complaint

In addition to the hearings the State Board of Elections had one-stop voting on the agenda. However, at this time the decsion for the one-stop voting has not been announced.

Related articles:

https://bladencounty.org/round-2-bladen-county-board-of-elections-members-face-another-official-complaint/

https://bladencounty.org/nc-state-board-of-elections-to-hold-meeting-soon/

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