The Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement on Friday unanimously authorized the N.C. Attorney General’s Office to take necessary steps to quash recent grand jury subpoenas served by federal authorities on the State Board and County Boards of Elections.
Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office issued subpoenas to the State Board and 44 county boards of elections in the eastern part of the state, seeking millions of records of North Carolina voters.
“The subpoena we’ve received was and remains overly broad, unreasonable, vague, and clearly impacts significant interest of our voters,” said Joshua Malcolm, board vice chairman, during Friday’s meeting.
The State Board also instructed county boards not to destroy election documents that may be subject to the federal subpoenas and reminded county elections officials that it is a Class 1 misdemeanor for elections officials to knowingly disclose voted ballots without a court order [G.S. § 163A-1105(e)]. State law protects the right of voters to a secret ballot.
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Example of subpoena to county boards