Nov 21, 2016
Statement from HRC and ENC on NC State Board of Elections Meeting, Pat McCrory’s Desperate Schemes
HRC and Equality North Carolina, the statewide organization working to secure equal rights and justice for LGBTQ North Carolinians, released the following statements after the North Carolina State Board of Elections held an emergency meeting tonight to discuss challenges in the Governor’s race, many of which have been soundly rejected by their Republican-controlled County Boards of Election. Pro-equality Governor-Elect Roy Cooper’s lead has already grown to 7,902 votes since absentee and provisional ballots have been counted.
“North Carolinians have spoken -- they are tired of Pat McCrory's petty personal politics being put above the best interest of our great state,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “It's not too late for Pat McCrory to finally step up and do the right thing -- concede this election and allow us as a state to move on and rebuild. Roy Cooper has won a small but substantial victory, and Pat McCrory's antics cannot change basic math.”
“The voters have had enough of Pat McCrory’s dangerous and desperate schemes,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Several GOP-controlled county boards have already rejected McCrory’s costly and desperate attempts to undermine the vote. It is time for Pat McCrory to accept the result of this election. North Carolinians deserve a prompt transition of power so Governor-elect Cooper can begin work to repeal HB2 and restore the reputation of this great state.”
McCrory, ousted by voters in large part because of the discriminatory HB2 legislation he signed into law, has a history of attempting to deny voters their voice. In July, a federal court struck down a law he signed that would have suppressed votes in predominately African-American neighborhoods. Additionally, just prior to the election, several North Carolina counties were caught improperly striking voters from the rolls in attempts to further suppress voters in predominantly African-American neighborhoods.
In 2012, Pat McCrory was elected with an 11 percent margin of victory. Not only did the discriminatory HB2 cost McCrory his re-election, it dragged down several state candidates. A stunning 66 percent of North Carolina voters reported opposition to HB2 in exit polling released November 8. Among the pro-equality winners in North Carolina were HRC and ENC endorsed Josh Stein for Attorney General and four races in the General Assembly: Cynthia Ball (D), Chaz Beasley (D), Joe John (D) and Mary Belk (D).
Between August and Election Day, TurnOUT NC -- a project of the Human Rights Campaign and Equality North Carolina -- held more than 260 get-out-the-vote events in Charlotte and Raleigh on behalf of HRC and ENC endorsed candidates. TurnOUT NC communicated to members and supporters through targeted social media, door-knocking, phone calls, direct mail, text message alerts and email alerts. The TurnOUT NC program generated more than 24 million impressions online to members and supporters encouraging them to vote for pro-equality candidates. HRC and ENC also released a series of ads targeting pro-equality voters, including “Lennie & Pearl for Roy Cooper” and “Pat McCrory: Bad for Business."