Constant training, secured technology and, most importantly, paper ballots are among steps that ensure North Carolina elections are secure, officials said this week.
Problems occur, but they are isolated and corrected, the panel said during the Trusted Elections Tour, sponsored by North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe, and Secure Elections.
Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, leaders of the grassroots effort initiated by The Carter Center, led the forum at Pitt Community College.
Participating in the local town hall forum were Pitt County Board of Elections members Jeffrey Blick, a Republican; Derek Brown, a Democrat; Kellie Hopkins, Beaufort County elections director; and Brad Reaves, a professor of computer science at N.C. State University.
“The truth is that it is inconceivable to me that any party could be able to change the outcome of the election through technical means,” Reaves said. “(But) it is very, very possible for lots of entities to spread disinformation and suppress votes by saying a polling location has changed or these particular kinds of voters can’t vote on this day.”
Such a situation occurred earlier this year in New Hampshire when voters received a telephone message that was a fake recording of President Joe Biden’s voice, telling people not to vote during the primary because they needed to “save” their vote for Election Day.
“That creates an illusion of scarcity. You can vote in the primary and general election,” Reaves said.
He said when people receive surprising election information, they should treat it suspiciously and check it with a trustworthy source, such as a reputable news outlet, a local elections board or the political parties involved.
Hopkins said she and one of her staff members received texts saying they had not received their absentee ballots. No election office in North Carolina will use text messaging to contact voters, Hopkins said. The offices use mail.
One of North Carolina’s best safeguards is that voters use paper ballots. While they are counted by computerized tabulators, the physical ballots can also be counted by hand if necessary.
Hopkins, Blick and Brown said they learned in a recent election that an individual may have voted in both Pitt and Beaufort counties. Both boards of elections were able to find the ballot, determine Beaufort County was the person’s residence and remove his vote from Pitt County’s total.
The tabulators are not connected to Wi-Fi, so they can’t be hacked, Reaves said. The machine’s data is also recorded on encrypted thumb drives that can’t be replaced with common consumer devices, he said.
Clifford Farrior, one of a small number of voters who attended the forum, had questions about safety and asked if poll workers have a way of communicating if they see a possible incident involving voter intimidation. Hopkins said administrators are in constant contact with the chief judges at the various precincts.
“Statutorily, chief judges have the authority to order the arrest of someone in a precinct,” she said. Hopkins has never had it happen during her tenure, but she has had a candidate get in a fight in a precinct parking lot.
“You want to be careful about bringing law enforcement in an election setting because it can intimidate some people,” she said.
Orr asked what voters should do if they see suspicious behavior at the polls. Hopkins said they should start by notifying the precinct’s chief judge. If that person is engaged in a situation, voters can also call the local elections office.
County elections offices also share information with local enforcement to explain Election Day statutes and what approaches need to be taken in certain situations.
Election security starts with empowering poll workers with knowledge, said Chris Mansfield, a Pitt County poll worker in the audience.
“Here in Pitt County, Dave Davis (county elections director) has done an excellent job of getting our staff up to speed for this election,” Mansfield said. “I came here to give testimony to how workers are trained in Pitt County, if anybody was thinking it was slap-dashed in way, shape or form.
“All the poll workers, if they are not your neighbors, they are in your immediate (community),” he said. “These people have to live in the community for the rest of their lives. They are going do the best job they can possibly do to make your vote count.”
Roberts said she has heard similar praise for poll workers in other counties.
Orr asked if Pitt County had problems recruiting poll workers because different counties are reporting different levels of success. Brown said Pitt County had a large number of applications but election law requires that poll workers reflect a certain percentage of Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated members.
Local elections offices have already faced a major hurdle: a nearly two-week delay in mailing out absentee ballots because a court ordered Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name removed from the North Carolina ballot. Not only did state and local counties have to spend extra money to print new ballots, Hopkins said, but some counties also had to purchase new sets of envelopes. Some counties also had already attached postage to the absentee envelopes, so that money was lost.
Davis said Wednesday his office received a $19,000 bill for the ballots printed with Kennedy’s name. He is waiting for the bill for the new ballots.
His office sent out 1,949 absentee ballots on Tuesday. Nearly 200 military and overseas ballots went out on Sept. 20.
The deadline to register to vote in North Carolina for the 2024 general election is 5 p.m. Oct. 11.
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