BOLIVIA — The Brunswick County Board of Elections dismissed an election protest on Friday from H2GO Commissioner Trudy Trombley, saying that there was not probable cause that an election law violation had occurred.
The protest, filed earlier this week, stemmed from a press release from Belville Mayor Mike Allen issued shortly before the municipal elections. The release denounced current H2GO Chairman Jeff Gerken and his running mate John Bradley, who were both candidates for H2GO commissioner seats. The release also endorsed the candidates challenging Gerken and Bradley (although it did not explicitly name them), conditioning an end to the current lawsuit of H2GO’s assets on their campaign victory.
Trombley acknowledged that the release did not likely impact the election results, but sought fines, censure, and an apology from Belville.
All election complaints are heard by the Board of Elections, but they must pass a probable cause hearing before a full hearing can proceed. In this case, the board determined that there was not sufficient evidence that an election violation had occurred. Specifically, the board cited that the statute under which Trombley filed her protest deals with municipalities, not elections.
Because Trombley’s complaint was filed under a different chapter of law, the board essentially ruled that there had not been a violation of election law without needing to consider if there was a violation of the law in general (a finding that would likely be outside the board’s jurisdiction).
The board has also completed canvassing for the 2019 local election without any changes to the results in the H2GO election.
