Less than six weeks before election day in a war-torn state, the five-member board said it had unanimously agreed to a compromise, which the court must approve. A settlement hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2, allowing the postmarked ballot to be received six days later on election day.
In a statement, the board said it appreciates the services of the two resigning members, Ken Raymond and David Blake, but the unanimous agreement was reached “during and after last week’s closed-session meeting after consultation with the agency’s attorney and all members of the litigation advisory board.” The staff, who are civil servants, give the board a full legal memo before each board meeting and answer any questions the board members may have about matters before the board. “
Raymond said they “can’t continue in good consciousness.” Blake said recent decisions by the board made it “impossible” to remain a member.
CNN has reached out to the Republican Party of North Carolina to comment.
After the settlement, the party called it “reprehensible abuse”, saying in a statement that it “supports the requirement of absent witnesses, prolongs the acceptance of all absent ballots in the last one week of the legal deadline and weakens protection against ballot harvesting.”
In a statement, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein of Democracy called the resignation “the most devastating political theater.”
“The proposed consent order is a response to a 100-year public health crisis, a slowdown in UPS mail delivery, and a mandatory settlement of a federal court order to process mail for voting errors.” “I am committed to ensuring that all eligible voters in North Carolina have faith in the knowledge that they can vote easily and safely by mail or in person – and that the candidate who wins the most votes will win.”
This story has been updated to include additional feedback.
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