5 Things to Know: Republicans Take Over State Board of Elections

Republicans Take Over State Board of Elections

A three-judge panel on the NC Court of Appeals allowed new Republican NC Auditor Dave Boliek to take control over the NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) on Thursday, halting a lower court order that had maintained Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s appointment authority for the State Board of Elections and all 100 county boards of elections “pending disposition of defendant-appellants’ appeal or until further order of this Court.”

Stein asked the 5-2 conservative majority state Supreme Court to step in to prevent Boliek from overseeing the state and county elections boards. In a statement, the governor expressed concern that Boliek would move the State Board of Elections to conservative control, which could make it easier for Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin to overturn his 734-vote defeat to Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs.

North Carolina’s governor has long had control over appointing officials to the NC Board of Elections, causing consternation among Republicans who have not won a gubernatorial election in more than a dozen years.

The nonpartisan pro-democracy advocacy organization Democracy North Carolina on Friday called the move “a deeply troubling assault on democratic norms and transparent governance,” pointing out that North Carolina now stands as the only state in the nation where the state auditor holds the authority to appoint members to the state board of elections.

“This ruling is about power being seized through procedural manipulation rather than earned through the democratic process,” said Katelin Kaiser, policy director with Democracy North Carolina. “The sanctity of our elections is being compromised by those who would rather change the rules than earn the trust of voters. When decisions affecting voter freedoms happen behind closed doors, we must recognize it for what it is: a direct threat to representative and accountable government.”

“This is not justice. This is judicial sabotage. And it reeks of partisan gamesmanship at the expense of the people of North Carolina,” said Melissa Price Kromm, executive director for North Carolina For The People, another pro-democracy coalition. “The idea that one party can manipulate the judiciary to upend the independent administration of our voting systems is chilling and should alarm every North Carolinian, regardless of party,”

The move has been challenged in federal court.

Bill Forcing Sheriffs to Cooperate with ICE Passes Through House

On Thursday, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden responded to the passage of House Bill 318, which aims to force North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, in the state House.

Named “The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act,” ACLU of North Carolina warns that HB 318 would expand the list of charged offenses that would require law enforcement to attempt to determine the citizenship status of the person who allegedly committed the crime, delay the start time for the required 48-hour ICE detainer hold, and require jail administrators to notify ICE in advance of releasing someone who was held on a detainer.

“The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office will consistently adhere to the law, as we have done in the past, with … HB318, should it become law,” wrote McFadden, who has battled publicly with ICE officials since being elected in 2018 after running on a promise to end the controversial 287g program, which kept undocumented immigrants in jail.

“With that said, HB318, like its predecessor HB 10, still fails to rectify the legal issue of transferring an undocumented immigrant with pending state charges to ICE for civil immigration proceedings. ICE agents must obtain judicial writ for MCSO to legally transfer custody. Regardless of notifying ICE with an individual’s status or release time, this still does not resolve the legal limitation on transfer.”

The Immigration Resource Center (IRC) notes that ICE may use administrative warrants, which are not signed by a judge and do not grant authority to enter private spaces without consent. These warrants are considered invalid and do not authorize local law enforcement to detain or arrest individuals for civil immigration violations, IRC maintains.

“This legislation is yet another attack on our immigrant communities, designed to funnel more people into the deportation pipeline while overburdening our local jails, instead of investing in policies that strengthen public safety and trust, HB318 expands racial profiling, fear, and unnecessary incarceration,” stated Stefanía Arteaga, co-founder of Carolina Migrant Network, in a release.

NC Rep. Carla Cunningham from Charlotte was the lone Democrat to vote for HB 318.

Police Search for Drivers in Two Fatal Hit-and-Runs

A man was killed in an apparent hit-and-run incident that occurred in north Charlotte on Monday, one of two pedestrians killed by vehicles that day. A cyclist was also killed in a hit-and-run on Beatties Ford Road on Thursday.

At approximately 1:21 a.m. on Monday morning, first responders were called to a hit-and-run motor vehicle collision with injury on Old Statesville Road just south of West W.T. Harris Boulevard, where they located 53-year-old Terry Mitchell lying unresponsive off the right side of the roadway. Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene. Police were unable to locate a vehicle at the scene of the crash.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a 2017-2019 grey or charcoal Honda CRV was traveling north on Old Statesville Road when it struck Mitchell as he walked in the roadway. The unknown driver of the Honda CRV failed to stop or contact emergency services. At the time of this writing, CMPD is actively working to identify the Honda CRV and its driver.

In the above map of deaths due to traffic-related incidents in Charlotte in 2025, red markers signify a person killed in their car, black markers signify pedestrian deaths, purple markers signify motorcycle and moped deaths, yellow markers signify pedestrians killed by trains, and green markers signify deaths involving micro-mobility vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, skateboards and wheelchairs.

At approximately 6:58 a.m. that same day, first responders were called to a motor vehicle crash with injuries involving a pedestrian on Equipment Drive near the West Sugar Creek/I-85 interchange in north Charlotte, where they found 38-year-old Caroline Smith in the roadway with serious injuries and a Nissan Rogue with damage to the front-end located nearby. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the Nissan was traveling north on Equipment Drive when Smith was struck as she was standing in the travel lane. The driver of the Nissan was not injured and remained on the scene. No charges had been filed at the time of this writing. According to our tracking (above), Smith was the eighth pedestrian killed in a vehicle-related incident this year and the fourth since the start of April.

Police are also still searching for a teenaged cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run on Beatties Ford Road Thursday. At approximately 5:18 p.m. that day, someone driving a Polestar struck two bicyclists — both reportedly missionaries with the Church of Latter-day Saints — while they rode on the sidewalk along Beatties Ford Road near Northwest School of the Arts. Medic transported one bicyclist to the hospital with serious injuries while the other, 18-year-old Aleki Langi, was pronounced dead at the scene. While the Polestar was found at the scene with extensive damage, the driver fled before police arrived.

CFD Says Dilworth Explosion Result of Intentional Fire

A house fire that included a large explosion and injured two people on Lombardy Circle near Freedom Park in Dilworth on Friday morning was intentionally set, according to the Charlotte Fire Department.

Beginning around 6:16 a.m. on Friday, CFD received multiple 911 calls reporting the sound of an explosion on Lombardy Circle near East Boulevard. An engine arrived at the scene at 6:18 a.m. to find a single-story residence fully engulfed in flames, according to the department’s release.

Due to the extent of structural damage, a primary search of the residence could not be conducted, the release read. A second alarm was requested at 6:33 a.m. to bring additional resources to the scene.

Charlotte Fire’s Hazardous Materials Team responded to secure leaking gas lines. Crews eventually brought the incident under control. The home was not occupied at the time of the explosion. Two adjacent homes sustained damage while one firefighter and a civilian sustained minor injuries that did not require hospital transport. Estimated property and content loss is $445,000.

The Charlotte Fire Investigation Task Force has since determined that the fire was intentionally set.

“This fire put lives at risk — both the public and our firefighters,” said CFD Chief Reginald Johnson. “Intentionally set fires threaten entire neighborhoods and endanger those sworn to protect them.”

The investigation is active and ongoing, according to CFD, and anyone with information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 704-334-1600.

Former CMS Teaching Assistant Charged with Raping Student

A former CMS teaching assistant at West Mecklenburg High School was charged with child sex crimes Monday. Jaylon Little, 26, was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old CMS student and recording it. He was arrested and charged with sexual activity with a student and second-degree exploitation of a minor.

Little was employed at West Meck from November 2023 to September 2024, when he resigned.

“The safety and learning of our students are of the utmost importance to us all,” Principal Casimir Bundrick said in a statement to West Meck families. “We encourage all students to report any concerns to their parents and/or school administration. Reports can also be made anonymously through the Say Something App.”