Karen Brinson Bell Coverage

State needs more elections staff, according to NC elections director

State Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell told lawmakers Wednesday about hundreds of ballots that were thrown out in the primary election.

NC needs more elections staff for 2024, top official tells lawmakers in voter ID update

Approximately one in every three counties in North Carolina will have its 2024 elections led by someone who has never handled a presidential election before. It's causing concerns for state elections director Karen Brinson Bell.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

State legislators grill NC elections director Karen Brinson Bell, as GOP leaders push to overhaul election rules

Republican lawmakers are pushing to overhaul the state board of elections to give themselves more power over the board, in addition to making changes to rules for mail-in voting and more.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Former North Carolina elections official says political battle led to her ouster

State elections board member Stella Anderson was told by Gov. Roy Cooper's office she was being reappointed. Three days later, she was told she was out -- due to the threat of a Republican lawsuit.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief

Senate Republicans, stewing over absentee ballot changes, roast state elections director

The central disagreement over more than two hours of questioning: Whether a 2020 legal settlement over absentee ballots changed state law.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Editorial: N.C. elections officials did a great job in 2020. Provide what's needed to do even better

Friday, March 19, 2021 -- Rather than looking at ways to handcuff state and local boards of elections as they do their jobs, legislative leaders should be having them appear in open meetings to explain how they did their job so well, outline what they need to do their job even better and vote to provide them with ALL the resources they need.

Fact check: NC elections board 'did not change state law,' leader misleadingly says

Those who heard comments by Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Election, may get the impression the elections board followed absentee ballot rules set by state lawmakers. That's not the case. In a legal settlement, the state elections board enacted changes to absentee ballot rules that had been set in general statutes.

Paul Specht, PolitiFact reporter

Editorial: Mail service critical to 2020 elections, Trump needs to end irresponsible attacks

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020 -- As state and local election boards have been working to expand voting opportunities and shore up absentee voting by mail to accommodate our life-saving need to be socially distant, President Donald Trump's postal service is making critical voting by mail and absentee voting less reliable. That is the REAL voter fraud here - not the phony scenarios the president has conjured up.

Editorial: Act now on critical election needs to assure full voting in November

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 -- North Carolina is due $22.6 million in federal funding for election technology, security and COVID-19 safety as well as other voting related needs. But the state must come up with about $4.4 million to match. The additional money is critical. It will help assure our polling places are safe, voters have several ways to cast ballots and as many voters as possible participate in our democracy. It shouldn't be a matter of partisan bickering or shenanigans. We need to do this quickly so the necessary planning and procedures can be in place.

DHS will examine Durham County poll equipment

At the request of the State Board of Elections, federal investigators with the Department of Homeland Security will conduct forensic examinations of poll equipment from Durham County elections workers in 2016.