Board of Elections looks at issue with voting at Wilmington precinct

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Your Voice Your Vote, or was it at one New Hanover County polling place last week?

During today’s vote canvass, two poll workers told the New Hanover County Board of Elections they think some voters got help casting their votes.

“I noticed some things that were taking place that seemed like another official was assisting a voter with selecting a candidate to vote for,” poll judge Adam Rogers said.

Rogers says that official was a fellow judge at Williston Middle School named Dorothy Monroe. He says he overheard a voter telling Monroe she was not familiar with any of the candidates and did not know who to select. That’s when he says he thinks Monroe told the voter who to chose.

“I felt like it illegitimatized the election system,” Rogers said.

There are two judges and one chief judge assigned to each polling center as well as assistants. The chief judge at Williston, who did not want to go on camera, says she noticed similar behavior from another poll worker and suspects this is common practice at this precinct.

“I would say… 20 or so would probably be impacted by this,” Rogers said.

The Board of Elections says 321 votes were cast at the school in the city election. To address these concerns, Board of Elections Chair John Ferrante says it will investigate.

“I think we have enough to seek additional facts and find out what did happen over there,” Ferrante said.

The Board of Eelections says some voters are eligible to get help from poll workers with how to work the machines, but the chief judge has to be the one to help.

“The most important thing is education,” Ferrante said. “People just don’t know what they procedures are.”

We reached out to Monroe to get her side of the story. All she had to say was she did not tell any voter who to select and refused an interview.

The Board of Elections says poll judges are paid about $300 each election. The board says when appointed to the position judges hold the job for two years.