NC elections head steps down as 2016 election cycle revs up

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – The head of North Carolina’s statewide elections board is resigning just as the 2016 elections cycle starts with candidates filing for ballot places next month.

State Board of Elections Chairman Josh Howard said Tuesday he’ll step down for health reasons effective New Year’s Day. His replacement to the five-member board that handles election disputes will be picked by Gov. Pat McCrory from candidates recommended by the state Republican Party.

Howard is a Raleigh lawyer appointed to a four-year term in 2013. He previously worked on white-collar criminal cases at the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. He worked for the independent counsel’s office in Washington in 2000 as it was closing its Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations involving President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

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