As the heated contest between Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger and Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page heads toward an expected recount, Berger’s campaign has alleged voter intimidation on the part of the sheriff’s campaign.
In a race where Page leads Berger by just 23 votes following official canvasses, the top Senate Republican is seeking any ballots that could make up the difference.
The Berger campaign said in a press release Monday afternoon that some Guilford County voters have come forward indicating they did not receive the correct ballot and were thus not able to vote in the Senate District 26 primary. (Guilford County encompasses multiple state senate districts.)
After Berger’s campaign reached out to the Guilford County Board of Elections with this concern, contacted other voters in the district, and obtained sworn affidavits to support their case, Page’s campaign texted voters with a message that raised the specter of felony charges, the Berger campaign alleges.
Sent Sunday evening, the text message, a screenshot of which was provided to NC Newsline by the Berger campaign, was accompanied by a graphic with the words “False Affidavit=Felony” in large red letters.
“Sheriff Sam Page’s legal defense fund here. Phil Berger’s campaign is asking voters to claim they received the wrong ballot in an effort to challenge his election defeat,” the text reads. “Submitting a false affidavit is a felony. Help put a stop to these dirty tricks.”
The message states that it is paid for by the North Carolina Election Integrity Fund, a legal fund established by the Page campaign, and asks voters to come forward if “anyone from the Berger campaign is pressuring you to sign something that isn’t true.”
The Berger campaign alleges that this text message from the Page campaign constitutes voter intimidation. (Screenshot courtesy of the Berger campaign)“Voters in SD-26 are receiving texts from the Page committee with veiled threats that a voter questioning if they received the correct ballot is tantamount to a felony offense,” said Jonathan Felts, a spokesman for the Berger recount effort. “So, yes, the highest-ranking law enforcement official in one of the counties is threatening voters in an effort to stop them from coming forward.”
A spokesman for the Page campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Guilford County Board of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Any protests concerning irregularities in the election must be filed by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. As of Monday, the Berger campaign had not submitted a complaint.
While a recount request is expected, the Berger campaign also had yet to file one at the time of the press release. Any request for a recount must be made by 12 p.m. on Tuesday.
Josh Howard, the former chairman of the North Carolina Board of Elections, said in a statement included in the Berger campaign’s press release that voters should be “free to express their concerns and raise potential failures” regarding the election process.
“The text message I’ve just seen sent by a Sheriff Page supporter does not foster immediate or long-term election integrity. No candidate, campaign, or political entity should ever tamp down any effort to ensure fair elections,” Howard said.
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