NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The Parker Poe Law Firm has concluded its review of the New Hanover County Board of Elections, finding the board was aware of the 2024 election’s statutory requirements but set internal deadlines that conflicted with state law.
READ MORE: New Hanover County approves up to $30,000 for law firm to review local elections board’s operations
The results of the audit, which New Hanover County requested and allocated $30,000 to, were sent to commissioners and county staff on March 10. Parker Poe investigated the BOE’s decision to delay counting all absentee ballots received prior to Election Day on Nov. 4, as required by state law. Nearly 2,000 mail-in ballots remained for tabulation after Election Day, the board saying they were acting under state guidance.
Though the BOE did not cooperate in Parker Poe’s review, BOE Director Rae Hunter-Havens claimed in the days after the election to have implemented an “administrative deadline” with permission from the State Board of Elections. The state BOE has denied this.
“The NCSBOE acknowledged the error, attributing it to miscommunication rather than systemic staffing issues,” according to the report.
The BOE has stated it did not have enough resources and staffing to keep up with unforeseen demands brought on by the 2024 election. However, Parker Poe’s report states nothing in the firm’s review indicated the earlier deadlines were established because of staffing inadequacies.
The report also indicates there are no legal or criminal penalties for the deviation, as none are associated with the statute. The “only remedy,” it states, would be to a participant that was negatively impacted by the delay, but the report notes no candidate could claim injury because all absentee ballots were eventually counted. Commissioner Dane Scalise did file a complaint during the election, but the board of elections dismissed his complaint because his dispute would not have changed election tallies.
“While all valid votes were ultimately counted, the failure to meet the statutory deadline for absentee ballot processing underscores the need for enhanced oversight, improved internal processes, and stronger communication between the NHCBOE and County Administration,” the report states. “Addressing these issues proactively will help restore public trust and ensure full compliance in future elections.”
Spokesperson Alex Riley told Port City Daily Thursday that Parker Poe’s review was “as complete as it could be without the involvement of the Board of Elections.” The report shows Parker Poe emailed director Hunter-Havens multiple times to ask for participation, which was denied every time.
Riley added staff is not aware of any unexplored items due to the BOE’s nonparticipation.
PCD reached out to BOE Chair Derrick Miller and Hunter-Havens about the report as well; neither responded by press, though Hunter-Havens responded after.
“At this time, we do not see that there are any actionable items related to their recommendations,” Hunter-Havens wrote in an email.
She also confirmed there has been no formal meeting between the BOE and county manager’s officer regarding the audit results.
Part of Parker Poe’s analysis was to provide six recommendations to improve processes at the BOE. They are listed as follows:
- Improve Communication & Oversight
- Establish a structured, real-time communication process between the NHCBOE and County Administration.
- Designate Assistant County Manager Tufanna Bradley as the primary liaison for election operations.
- Ensure direct engagement between the NHCBOE’s legal counsel and the County Attorney to maintain procedural alignment.
- Strengthen Absentee Ballot Processing
- Implement process improvements to guarantee that all absentee ballots received by the 7:30 PM deadline are reviewed and counted on election night.
- Provide enhanced training for election staff on absentee ballot procedures and compliance with state deadlines.
- Conduct Regular Audits & Legal Reviews
- Mandate comprehensive post-election audits to verify adherence to state election laws.
- Engage in public consultations on election rulemaking to foster transparency and voter confidence.
- Enhance Legal & Administrative Support
- Continue utilizing experienced outside legal counsel (e.g., Mark Payne) while ensuring that the County’s legal team remains actively involved in reviewing election procedures.
- Invest in Staff Training & Technology
- Request additional training from the NCSBOE specifically focused on absentee ballot handling.
- Implement advanced election management software to streamline staffing, inventory, and election supply tracking.
- Review and Fund Resource Requests
- Carefully evaluate the NHCBOE’s FY25/26 budget requests to ensure adequate allocation of resources necessary to address operational inefficiencies and meet statutory requirements.
As for the sixth recommendation, the BOE sent its “enhancement” requests to the county last week. It’s asking for three new full-time positions, three part-time administrative technicians, and new election official management software. This amounts to upward of $200,000 (a salary is not listed for one of the full-time positions).
Chair Miller accompanied the requests with a letter explaining how the prior fiscal year presented many challenges to the BOE, proving that the board can no longer rely on temporary workers to the same extent as they have in the past due to an increased and more complicated workload.
“Over the last several years, the complexity and difficulty of conducting elections has greatly increased due to the combination of changes in election laws and procedure, the make-up of the available workforce for elections, and the growing volatile nature of elections themselves,” Hunter-Havens wrote in the letter.
As examples, Miller pointed out the new law concerning the make-up and appointment of the State and County Boards of Elections has been changed by statute three times in the last 18 months. At one time this past fall, there were seven lawsuits seeking to significantly change or amend voting or registration procedures, he also noted.
The BOE is requesting nearly $20,000 for new software to manage election official assignments for early voting and Election Day and inventory tracking. The application states the current technology is not meeting these needs effectively, as it is a piece-meal system that opens up staff to more errors.
Transition to a new software will take four to eight weeks, the application states, and could be done before the 2025 municipal elections.
As for the positions, the BOE is seeking a “voting services manager,” net cost being $83,870. The request states the BOE needs additional oversight and specialized work related to registration, absentee-by-mail, voting equipment, public records requests, finance and payroll, and election audits. This person would also be at a high enough administrative level to run the BOE in the director’s absence.
The application states: “Due to the growing complexity of elections administration, we need to provide greater supervisory and administrative oversight of our internal processes to ensure full compliance with all laws. In addition, we need to ensure that we can provide the highest level of customer service in the event of departmental vacancies and increased demands of large election events.”
Another position is the “elections registration coordinator,” net cost of $62,585. The position is necessary for the completion of all specialized programming work related to voter registration.
“We need greater year-round depth to ensure timely and accurate completion of all tasks related to maintaining the county’s voter registration database, and conducting regular list maintenance in line with federal and state regulations,” the application states.
The third full-time position, submitted without a cost estimate, is the “elections education and communications coordinator.” This would essentially be a communications officer charged with crafting messaging and materials, responding to the media, creating marketing materials, fostering ongoing public relations, maintaining the website and social media and coordinating community planning.
“While we appreciate the support of the NHC Communications and Outreach Department, we need sufficient depth and knowledge in-office to meet our operational needs in this area due to the potential for conflicts of interests given our separate legal status apart from the county,” the application states.
The three part-time administrative assistants would cost a collective $53,352, to be tasked with maintaining the county’s voter registration database, conducting regular list maintenance, and absentee-related tasks. They each would work 19 hours a week.
“By adding three new casual part time positions we are dramatically increasing our year-round capacity to provide support to critical registration, absentee, and preparatory processes to ensure a smooth election cycle, relying less on temporary staff members,” the application states.
[Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article attributed the letter accompanying the BOE’s enhancements requests to Rae Hunter-Havens, not Derrick Miller. PCD regrets the error.]
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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