DOBSON, N.C. — The race for a spot on Dobson's board of commissioners will get a new election in 2023. The North Carolina State Board of Elections called for a redo because of a strange situation on Election Day. An incident report from the Surry County Board of Elections showed a poll worker told voters at a polling place that a candidate in the race had died. The problem was the candidate was very much alive.
The race for Dobson board of commissioners was very close. The top two vote-getters get a spot on the board. J. Wayne Atkins and Walter White won the election, beating John Jonczak and Sharon Gates-Hodges.
White beat Jonczak by just eight votes.
Affidavits from multiple voters describe strange behavior from a poll worker on Election Day. In his election protest, Jonczak claims this behavior could have cost him the election.
An incident report from the Surry County Board of Elections said the poll worker was telling voters that one of the candidates in the Dobson board of commissioners race had died.
This situation has happened before. Sometimes, a candidate dies after the ballots are printed but before election day. Something similar happened in the race for a spot on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board.
The same situation happened in Dobson. Sharon Gates-Hodges died after the ballots were printed but before election day, so there wasn't time to reprint the ballots and remove her name.
The problem, as described in the Surry County Board of Elections incident report, is that the poll worker was telling people that John Jonczak was dead, not Sharon Gates-Hodges. Mr. Jonczak was very much alive.
In his election protest, Jonczak noted that this irregularity cast doubt on the apparent results of the election.
The Surry County Board of Elections agreed. They do not have the power to call for a new election, so they sent the matter to the state board of elections.
The two men who initially won the race, J. Wayne Atkins and Walter White, filed an appeal. They claimed it was possible that the poll worker was indeed pointing to Sharon Gates-Hodges when telling voters of a candidate's untimely death. They felt that not enough information was provided at the Surry County Board of Elections hearing where the matter was discussed. They also noted that Jonczak received the most votes that day at the polling place where the incident occurred.
When the incident reached the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the board members dismissed the appeal and called for a new election.
The new race for the Dobson Board of Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The in-person early voting process will begin on February 16, 2023. J. Wayne Atkins, Walter White and John Jonczak will appear on the ballot. Sharon Gates-Hodges will be removed. The top two vote-getters will win a spot on the board.
The bizarre incident gave way to more drama within the Surry County Board of Elections. Two members could be removed from board.
In November, the board met to certify the Surry County elections. During that meeting, board members Jerry Forestieri and Tim DeHaan submitted a letter saying they refused to certify the election.
The first, albeit short, part of their letter cites the irregularity in Dobson. They claimed the situation should be sorted out before final certification. The remainder, and vast majority, of their letter outlined grievances with judicial decisions on North Carolina election laws.
Forestieri and DeHaan specifically call out Judge Loretta Biggs.
They write that her decisions on state election law, "stripped the election process of the trustworthiness they were designed to protect".
They continue, "all elections conducted in all counties in North Carolina have a very uncertain validity."
When all was said and done, DeHaan decided to certify the election. Forestieri refused.
A voter in Orange County saw the incident play out in a live stream and sent a complaint to election officials.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections discussed the situation shortly after making the call about the Dobson election redo.
The board had to decide whether or not the refusal to certify the election was enough to call for evidentiary hearings. Board member Stacy Eggers warned that taking the issue to evidentiary hearings could set a precedent that harms freedom of speech. He argued that calling for these hearings could function as a way to silence board members who question election results. Fellow state board members responded by saying that evidentiary hearings do not mean the people in question are guilty; it only means that the state board will consider further.
In the end, the NCSBE voted 3-2 to move forward on evidentiary hearings for Jerry Forestieri, who did not certify the election, and Tim DeHaan, who threatened to not certify the election but did so anyways.
The NCSBE did not specify when those hearings would take place but did say they would happen in early 2023. Depending on what evidence is presented and how the board votes, Forestieri and DeHaan could be removed from their spot on the Surry County Board of Elections for failing to perform their duties.