Raleigh, NC — North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes has released the following statement:
“Per usual, Governor Cooper takes a bad situation and makes it worse by continuing to erode confidence in the neutrality of the Board. Democrat Joshua Malcolm is the most partisan member of the NCSBE from either party. As highlighted by The Charlotte Observer, it was Mr. Malcolm’s score-settling that started this entire situation with an unacceptable lack of transparency,” said Hayes.
From The Charlotte Observer editorial board:
“We know that Malcolm’s move Tuesday was a surprise. Neither campaign knew Malcolm’s complaint was coming, which indicates that it likely doesn’t involve an election day complaint of fraud, at least not one significant enough to cause McCready to call for an investigation before conceding this razor-thin result. Malcolm’s comments Tuesday also seem to indicate that the issues troubling him are ongoing. ‘I am not going to turn a blind eye to what took place to the best of my understanding which has been ongoing for a number of years that has repeatedly been referred to the United States attorney and the district attorneys for them to take action and clean it up,’ he said. ‘And in my opinion those things have not taken place.'”
The Charlotte Observer condemned the move, stating: “Holding a congressional election hostage is not the appropriate way to resolve longstanding issues, regardless of how serious they might be.”
“This is exactly why Cooper should have appointed a veteran like former Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, a Democrat but someone respected from both sides of the aisle,” continued Hayes. “Instead, the Governor appointed another hyper-partisan Democrat, one that started this mess in the most non-transparent way possible. “Cooper sued to have control of the Board, won, and now owns the actions of the NCSBE Chairman. Cooper must immediately demand answers from his new chair as called for by The Charlotte Observer.”
“Are the issues he raised widespread enough to change the 9th District results? Is he merely trying to get the attention of investigators he feels have been ignoring serious long-term problems?”
The Charlotte Observer called on Malcolm to “address whether the issue directly changed the outcome in November’s 9th District race. If so, he owes the public more specifics, immediately. If not, this is not the best way to raise his concerns.”
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