Steven Brooks: SBOE shows partisanship

Regarding the Dec. 1 news article “Elections board orders Durham County recount in party-line vote”: I was saddened to see a partisan vote by the State Board of Elections to recount votes in Durham County. There was no lawful basis for this decision, only the “I wish Pat had won” laments of the GOP.

But of course the Republicans control the outcome despite the lack of evidence before them. Hence the partisan vote, even though the Republicans who forced the recount admitted that they do not expect any change to result. But their vote opens the door to fraud since the recount is under their control – where, and how safely, have ballots been stored since Nov. 8? And why did they decide to ignore the clear legal issue and recount? Is it just to satisfy “Pouting Pat,” or is there something more nefarious afoot?

While I believe the Durham County Board of Elections acted honorably, the state board’s clearly partisan action is a betrayal of the rule of law.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Steven Brooks: SBOE shows partisanship."