NC candidate and campaign manager accused of trying to intimidate voters | News & Observer

A voter said Rep. Chris Malone asked her whether she was preparing to vote twice while she waited at an early-voting site this week, in an attempt to intimidate her.

Another woman said she overheard a man connected to the Malone campaign ask much the same question of a voter on the first day of early voting last week. She did not know the man’s name but forwarded to the investigative news organization ProPublica a picture of Dennis Berwyn, Malone’s campaign manager, taken at the early-voting location that day.

The News & Observer learned about the accusations through the Electionland project, a collaboration of newsrooms around the country tracking voting problems.

Berwyn adamantly denied that he asked anyone if they were voting twice.

“That is not something that would ever come out of my mouth,” he said.

Mia Johnson of Wake Forest said Malone approached her and a friend at about 5 p.m. Monday outside the Northern Regional Center early-voting site. Johnson said Malone asked her, “Didn’t I see you here voting earlier today?”

Johnson said she reported it to an elections supervisor.

“If it were anybody else, they would be intimidated by that situation,” Johnson said in a telephone interview. “It just was inappropriate. It was accusatory. It bothered me.”

Wake County elections director Gary Sims said he was told that someone was asked about voting twice, but information did not include the name of a candidate or campaign.

Malone, a Republican seeking a fourth House term, said Tuesday night that he did not recall asking anyone about voting twice.

“I have no memory of this at all,” he said. “Things were flying fast and furious yesterday, we were having a lot of fun, kidding around with a lot of people. I doubt I said anything like that.”

Jennifer Rudolph said she was at the polls last Wednesday, on the first day of early voting, when she saw Berwyn approach a Latina voter.

“A woman walked up to get in line,” Rudolph said. “As she passed the Malone staffer, the campaign manager leaned forward, took a step into her and asked if it was her second time voting today. She said no and walked away to vote.”

Rudolph said she helps run an organization called Stronger NC, and was talking to voters about constitutional amendments.

She said she talked to the voter as she was leaving the building, and asked her if she had heard Berwyn’s question correctly.

“She repeated it,” Rudolph said. “I couldn’t believe that he said that. I apologized and said I saw that.”

Berwyn said Tuesday the accusations are acts of desperation on the part of Democrats. “They’re looking for any opportunity to find anything that is somehow wrong,” he said.

State elections officials investigated a Malone tweet that showed a photo of a ballot with the bubble next to his name filled in. Photographing voted ballots is illegal. The photographer, whom state elections board spokesman Patrick Gannon identified as Michael Scott Davis, received a warning, The News & Observer reported.

No elections officials talked to them about voter complaints, Malone and Berwyn said.

Voters who believe they are being intimidated may call State Board of Elections investigators at 919-814-0750.