GOP officials say they were pressured to reject WCU voting site. What to know

Jackson County Republican election officials say their own party and State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office pushed them to block an early voting site at Western Carolina University. One GOP board member broke ranks and voted to approve the site, saying he was told he could be removed if he didn’t vote a certain way.

FULL STORY: Jackson County GOP officials say party, NC auditor pressured them on voting site

Here are key takeaways:

• Republican board member Jay Pavey broke with his party Tuesday to support the WCU site, saying he’d been told he’d be removed if he didn’t vote a certain way. “I will stand on this hill and I will die on this hill,” he said.
• Board Chair Bill Thompson cast the lone vote against the WCU site and acknowledged on the record that he’d “been asked to” vote for a local recreation center instead by the auditor’s office.
• Republican board member Wes Hanemayer resigned last week, writing that outside “third parties” were trying to demand he take “a completely illogical path” and exert “control” over the board.
• Because state law requires unanimous early voting plans, the 3-1 vote sends the WCU question to the State Board of Elections — which previously rejected a WCU site for the March primary.
• 2024 legislation stripped incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of authority to appoint election board members and transferred it to Boliek, giving Republicans 3-2 majorities on every county board.
• Boliek has expanded the auditor’s election role, hiring former NC GOP director Dallas Woodhouse as a liaison to county boards and launching a commission to overhaul election software.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists, including politics editor Jordan Schrader. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.