NHC Board of Elections take no action against director Denay Harris after closed session

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After a nearly 3-hour-long closed session, the New Hanover County Board of Elections announced no actions would be taken against elections director Denay Harris at this time.

The special meeting was held a few days after Harris, who had begun her duties in early February, was placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave with pay pending further review.

Harris had made claims that the county had tampered with her emails and communications with individuals.

WWAY obtained the results of two independent third-party reviews of Harris’s computer, which were completed early on Monday.

One review, conducted by a company called Netrio, found no evidence of deletion or movement by NHC administrators or other users in the reviewed data.

After Monday’s closed-session ended, Board of Elections chair Jamie Getty released a statement.

“Public comments by election staff that disparage fellow county employees and public servants are unacceptable to this Board,” Getty said. “The Board did not authorize, nor does it endorse any such communications.”

During her time as elections director, Harris would have interacted most with three people: Lisa Wurtzbacher and Crystal Whittaker, who both served in interim positions during the time between former election director Rae Hunter-Havens retirement and Harris’s hiring, and Chris Coudriet, the county manager, who oversees all of the buildings operated by the county.

Getty explained the relationship between the board of elections and the county.

“I would characterize it as cooperative and collaborative. We’re completely independent from the county.”

State law says the county Board of Elections cannot remove Harris, as only the state Board of Elections has the power to terminate an elections director.

Getty did not confirm or deny whether the Board had voted to send a petition to the state Board of Elections regarding Harris’s position.

A petition is the only way to begin the process of removing an elections director.

If a petition was sent, the State Executive Director will forward a copy to Harris.

Harris will then have 15 days to give a refute or explanation.

The executive director has 20 days to decide on a termination, and the State Board of Elections has another 20 days to intervene before a decision is finalized.

Harris will remain on administrative leave until “the conclusion of the review of this matter.”

She was not in attendance at the meeting.

Getty’s full statement reads:

Just eight months ago, this Board was seated as the guardians of election administration in New Hanover County. Since that time, on a bipartisan basis, we have made significant progress in improving transparency, election security, and the delivery of election services to the people of New Hanover County.

We have successfully conducted two elections and were aided in these efforts by the County Manager’s Office and other senior county officials. We thank them for working with this Board to improve elections in New Hanover County, despite a prior history of division between county and election leadership. We are proud that those days are behind us, and we will not go back.

This Board takes the confidentiality of personal and personnel matters seriously. We cannot control if the Elections Director chooses to waive her confidentiality, but the Board will continue to be bound by the law.

Public comments by elections staff that disparage fellow county employees and public servants are unacceptable to this Board. The Board did not authorize, nor does it endorse, any such communications. To those whose character and public service were maligned, we offer our sincere apologies.

Director will remain on administrative leave until the conclusion of the review of this matter. This is with bipartisan and unanimous support. In the meantime, our dedicated staff continues to register voters, answer questions, and prepare for the November elections. Our work continues unabated.

Neither this Board nor any of its members can, under North Carolina law, have further comment on this matter until the process has reached its conclusion.