Attachment to Amended Protest of Pittsboro Town Election /11-19-07]:
There were a series of irregularities and mass confusion on election day November 6 concerning whether voters lived in the corporate jurisdiction of the Town of Pittsboro and were, thus, eligible to vote for the Mayor and Town Board races, as well as violations of the requirement that a voter not be allowed to leave the polling enclosure and return to vote a second time. This complaint was amended to provide a more accurate summary of violations, since we had such a short time [e.g. one day following the recount] to review voter registration and voting files before filing the original protest at 4:50 p.m. on November 15, 2007]. It is now even more clear that a significant number of people voted in the municipal election who were not legally entitled to do so, and others who were entitled to vote in the municipal elections were not allowed to do so. There also appears to have been an inducement to vote by persons connected directly to candidates for the Pittsboro town elections who sought voters’ support for a slate a candidates in apparent exchange for a ride to the polls and a meal following their vote on Election Day. These violations included:
1)At least one person who cast an absentee ballot in the Pittsboro election during early voting whose voter registration address is not in the Town of Pittsboro city limits. Joseph Kim Barr, 791 NC Highway 902, Pittsboro: Voted on October 25 as an absentee ballot in the Pittsboro race but the Board of Elections staff has confirmed that this is not within the town limits. It is also confirmed that he does not pay town taxes on this residence. He also voted in the 2005 Pittsboro election
2)Eleven voters who cast a ballot on Election Day, November 6, in the Pittsboro election whose registration addresses appear not to be in the Town of Pittsboro city limits.
● Doris Waugh Betts, 795 NC Highway 902
● Pedro DeOliveira, 1283 Thompson Street
● Varnell D. Evans, 1151 Thompson Street
● Patricia Maxine Jacques, 619 NC Highway 902
● Robin Samuel Jacques, 619 NC Highway 902
● Joseph Leo Madden, 1283 Thompson Street
● Jeremy Shannon Poss, 1377 Sanford Rd.
● Sylvia K. Townsend, 1293 Thompson Street
● Howard Ruffin Townsend, Jr. 1293 Thompson Street
● Keith Charles Weisbrodt, 922 NC Highway 902
● Patricia Ann Weisbrodt, 922 NC Highway 902
Mr. Madden also voted in the 2005 Pittsboro municipal election.
3)A number of voters who lived in the Town limits whose listed voter registration address had been determined through the county GIS system as being an address outside the city limits of Pittsboro but who claimed to live in Pittsboro and were allowed to vote in the Pittsboro race by showing their alleged home location on a map. They were not required to fill out a provisional ballot.
● Janet Lee Germillion, 76 Log Barn Road
● Loraine A. Cramer, 18 Farmingdale Lane
● Marolyn May McDiarmid, 96 Log Barn Acres Rd.
● Peter Brian Gremillion, 76 Log Barn Road
4)There were at least two voters whose voter registration address is in the Town of Pittsboro city limits but who were not given a Pittsboro election ballot and, thus, deprived of the right to vote in the Pittsboro election.
● Nicole Parsons Edwards, 311 Danbury Ct.
● Edward David McGurrin, 45 Farmingdale Lane.
There may be other voters who were similarly denied the right to vote in the municipal election because they were not given the correct ballot.
5)There were voters who came to the polls on Election Day, changed their address (after the registration deadline) from out of town to within the city limits, and also voters who changed their address from in-town to out-of-town addresses, and were allowed to vote in the Pittsboro election without requiring them to fill out a provisional ballot.
● Amy Elaine Cook, 796 Old Graham Road [Sold property on
March 30, 2007, changed address on Election Day to 505
AlstonBridge Rd., Siler City]]
● Jason Elwood Eubanks, 1905 US Highway 64 East [changed
address to 1350 Sanford Rd., Pittsboro]
● Kimberly Bass Scott, 264 Granite Springs Rd. [changed
address to 171 Oakwood Drive]
● Frederick Raymond J. Stagg, 47 Midway St. [changed
address to 988 N. Highway 87, Pittsboro]
● Vickie Hearne Bednar,, 215 Churchwood Lane [changed
address to 29 Bednar Lane, notation initialed by Judge that
voter should receive only county ballot but records indicate
actually received Pittsboro ballot].
6)There were voters who have separated from a spouse, have moved out of their Pittsboro home and now live in another county, who came to the polls on Election Day and improperly cast ballots in the Pittsboro election.
● Christie Wilson Boyce, 23 Bellemont Rd. [See attached
notarized letter from Chris Hinkle and Tim Keim. Boyce
currently resides at 1603 Ephesus Church Road in Chapel Hill]
● James Gilbert Griffith, 124 Bellemont Rd. (See attached
Chatham County Clerk of Court documents, including Non-
Warranty Deed, Memorandum of Settlement and Property
Settlement, Certificate of Satisfaction, and Deed of Trust]
7)Three voters whose registration addresses were listed as being in the Town of Pittsboro were given Pittsboro ballots but volunteered that they did not live in the Town and were instead given county ballots. However, the Board of Elections official list of voters includes all three as having voted in the Pittsboro election. Obviously, there could have been others we are unaware of who also received Pittsboro ballots mistakenly but went ahead and voted in the Pittsboro election.
● Lora Mitchell, 1345 Thompson Street (Declined Pittsboro
ballot on November 6]
● Betty Jean Whitt, 1233 Sanford Rd. [Declined Pittsboro
ballot on November 3]
● Donald Joseph Whitt, 1233 Sanford Rd. [Declined
Pittsboro ballot on November 6]
8)There were voters who came in to vote and were not given a Pittsboro election ballot, cast the county ballot, left the polling enclosure, but then subsequently returned to the polling enclosure with a campaign manager for a candidate in the Pittsboro elections, indicated they were Pittsboro residents and cast provisional ballots. Upon review by the staff of the Board of Elections it was recommended that these provisional ballots be denied since allowing them to vote would be clear violation of 8 NCAC 10B.0104 (e). However, during canvass the Board of Elections improperly allowed those ballots, which gave two votes to Town Board candidate Hugh Harrington. That raised Mr. Harrington’s tentative margin of victory from one to three votes.
● Elizabeth Dancy Warner, 1825 East Street
● Douglas Luke Warner, 1825 East Street
9)Lelah Roberta Bennett, age 73, who resides at 231 Rectory St [e.g. which is part of a senior citizens’ and disabled persons’ Walnut Grove apartment complex in Pittsboro] received a telephone call on November 4 from the Remax Real Estate office in Pittsboro soliciting her vote for the candidate slate of Clint Bryan and Gene Brooks for the Town Board and Max Cotten for Mayor. She was offered a ride to the polls on November 6. Scott Thomas of Remax and Kathryn Bryan Easterling, 100 Royal Pines Ct., Pittsboro, the sister of candidate Clint Bryan, arrived in a van, asked her again about voting for the above-stated slate, as well as Hugh Harrington for the Town Board, and then drove her to the polls. After she came out from the polls, they asked her how she voted. She was then driven to Al’s Diner where she was given a barbecue lunch with sweet tea. Her understanding was that the lunch was provided in exchange for her vote.
Based upon information and belief, this slate of candidates or persons on their behalf contacted other elderly voters to support their candidate slate, offered rides and similar breakfast or luncheon inducements for voting for their slate. This is a clear violation of election laws concerning inducement to vote for candidates for municipal elections. N.C. General Statutes 163-275(3).
10) Mary Delois Nettles (2393 NC 87 North, Pittsboro), a former Democratic party chair and current campaign volunteer for Max Cotten, Gene Brooks and Clinton Bryan, consistently violated the rule of not campaigning within 50 feet of the polling place. Among other activities she was seen a) standing inside in the voting line near or within the voting enclosure talking to voters and b) standing within 10 feet of a polling enclosure area at a temporary hot dog stand talking and attempting to persuade voters. She also stood outside behind candidate Michele Berger and made unflattering remarks about Ms. Berger that were a clear attempt to intimidate the candidate. When asked to move away so that Ms. Berger could talk to voters, Ms. Nettles refused and became outwardly hostile toward Ms. Berger. This was part of a clear attempt to intimidate and harass candidate Berger. It also appeared that others campaigning for candidates were consistently allowed beyond the 50-foot campaign restriction line and virtually no attempt was made by Chief Judge Madeline Mason to enforce this important rule required for fair and orderly campaigning in front of the Pittsboro polling place.
11)The mandatory audit of the Pittsboro Mayor’s race and that canvass of provisional ballots revealed additional irregularities. When the audit appeared to be completed, Board of Elections officials discovered that they did not have all of the ballots. A search was conducted and a box with additional optical scan ballots was uncovered and counted. This raised troubling questions about the security of the ballots following completion of the election. Additionally, based on information and belief, when it came time to review the provisional ballots, Board of Election members found that some of the ballots were improperly unsealed. It is not known whether they were never properly sealed or improperly unsealed prior to the canvass.
7.8 NCAC 10B.0104(e) does not allow a voter to leave the voting enclosure and again return for the purpose of voting. Douglas Luke Warner and Elizabeth Dancy Warner voted at CCCC on Election Day twice: once when they first came in and were given a county ballot and a second time after leaving the voting enclosure and returning at the behest of Heather Johnson, campaign manager for Chris Bradshaw,.The second time they were given a provisional ballot and allowed to vote in the Pittsboro race. Despite a clear violation of the above-listed statute and a recommendation of the Board of Elections staff, the Chatham County Board of Elections overruled their staff and allowed these two provisional ballots to be counted. This gave Pittsboro board candidate Hugh Harrington two votes of his final three-vote margin following the recount. See #6(8) above for more details
§163-275(2) makes it unlawful for any person to give or promise...at any time, before or after any such...election, any money, property or other thing of value whatsoever in return for the vote of an elector. This appears to have occurred in this election. How widespread this occurred and how many voters it affected can only be determined by a thorough investigation by the State Board of Elections. See #6(9) above.
§163-166(3) and (4): Mary D. Nettles and others, including Heather Johnson, were improperly allowed to enter the voting enclosure although they did not qualify under any the provisions for allowing non-voting individuals to enter the polling enclosure, and consistently violated the requirement that no campaigning be conducted within 50 feet of the voting place where a buffer zone is supposed to be enforced. See #6(10).
Pittsboro precinct Chief Judge Madeline Mason failed to require voters who changed their addresses from out-of-town to in-town to vote with provisional ballots and did not enforce rules concerning campaigners entering and talking to voters within the voting enclosure.
Board of Elections – improperly allowed the Warners’ provisional ballots to be counted despite a clear violation of the mandatory elections rules against re-entering the
voting enclosure for the purpose of voting.
Scott Thomas and Kathryn B. Easterling and unknown others associated with the candidacies of town board candidates Gene Brooks, Clinton Bryan, Hugh Harrington and Max Cotton, in what appears to be providing meals in exchange for votes. To be determined by investigation requested from the State Board of Elections.
Christie Wilson Boyce and James Gilbert Griffith for what appears to be fraudulently signing voting cards that reside at the former residences within Pittsboro and voting in the Pittsboro election, when the clearly no longer used their Pittsboro addresses as the permanent residences due to legal separations of their spouses who remain living in these residences alone. This appears to be a violation of §163-275(4)
8.Mayor Randy Voller – witness to Warners entering polling area for second vote
Town board candidate Gene Brooks - same
Heather Johnson - encouraged and escorted Warners into polling area
Timothy Keim - listed Christie Boyce’s residence for sale and is informed she has permanently moved to a new residence
Chris Hinkle - lives across the street from Boyces, informed of Chris Boyce
separation and Christie Boyce permanently moving out of
this residence and having only returned to this residence once
since their separations.
Chris Boyce - husband of Christie Boyce and only resident of 23 Bellemont
Diane Griffith – wife of James Griffith and only resident of 124 Bellemont
Mary Nettles – violation of buffer area and voting enclosure rules
Lesley Landis – witness to Mary Nettles talking to voters in line to vote
Scott Thomas – arranging meals for voters
Kathryn Bryan Easterling – arranging meals for voters
Shannon Plummer - owner of Al’s Diner on cost of meals and payment method
Dawn Stumpf – BOE Director on finding irregularities
Madeline Mason – Chief Judge, Pittsboro precinct
Michele Berger - Intimidation by Mary Nettles
Delcenia Turner – witness to harassment and intimidation by Mary Nettles
Erick Davis, 191 Chatham Forest Drive, same as above
9,1) Investigation by State Board of Elections concerning issues of apparent vote buying and fraudulent voting cited above. If sufficiently widespread, along with other irregularities found, the State Board of Elections should seriously consider conducting a new election for the entire Pittsboro Town Board.
2) Review all voters, property tax records and official map of the Town of Pittsboro city limits to determine definitely which voters reside in the Town of Pittsboro and are eligible to vote for Pittsboro municipal officials.
3) Based on the clear irregularities found in people not living in the Town who voted in the Pittsboro town board race and those living in the Town who did not receive Pittsboro ballots, as well as an improper ruling that allowed for two additional votes for town board candidate Hugh Harrington, a new election should be held between Michele Berger and Hugh Harrington given their current vote margin of three votes.
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