NC Elections Board denies Hanig’s effort to remove Jordan from ballot  

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on September 2, 2022

By 3-2 vote, Democrat remains candidate for District 3 NC Senate seat

Valerie Jordan and Bobby Hanig.

After about an hour of debate and discussion on Sept. 2, the North Carolina Board of Elections ruled against Republican Bobby Hanig’s challenge to the candidacy of his Democratic rival Valerie Jordan on residency grounds.

The 3-2 decision, which broke down along party lines, allows Jordan to remain on the November ballot in the District 3 NC Senate race, barring a successful appeal of that decision.

The motion that the board passed reversed a finding by the Currituck County Board of Elections on Aug. 17 that there was probable cause to believe that Jordan had violated election law requirements regarding candidate residency. Still, by a 3-2 vote at an Aug. 23 hearing, the Currituck Board of Elections sent the ultimate decision on Jordan’s eligibility to the North Carolina Board of Elections.

The Sept. 2 hearings began with presentations by attorneys representing the two candidates — John Wallace for Jordan and Craig Schauer for Hanig. They not only debated the question of Jordan’s residency, but also addressed another topic on the board’s agenda – whether Jordan had lodged an appeal of the Currituck Board’s finding in a timely and appropriate manner.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the state board, by a 5-0 vote, decided that the Jordan appeal had been properly filed, and then turned to the broader question of residency and eligibility.

Board Member Tommy Tucker said he had concluded that Jordan’s true residence was in Raleigh, outside of District 3. But Jeff Carmon expressed the view that she is clearly a resident of Warren County, which is in the district.

Stacy Eggers expressed his preference for remanding the issue back to the Currituck County Board of Elections in order for them to “make a more detailed finding of facts.” But he argued that the North Carolina Board of Elections could not substitute its judgment in the case for the local Currituck County Board’s finding.

Stella Anderson countered that the state board should not send the matter back to Currituck County, asserting that “We’ve got to be cognizant of the time frame,” with Election Day little more than two months away.

For his part, North Carolina Elections Board Chair Damon Circosta stated that “I just don’t find the petitioner’s protest [meets] that burden” of substantial evidence against Jordan.

Moments later, as the vote was tallied, Board Members Carmon, Anderson and Circosta, the three Democrats, voted to deny the protest, while the two Republicans, Tucker and Eggers, dissented.

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