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Questions about Morrisville ballots
MORRISVILLE, NC (WTVD) – Wake County’s district attorney has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into absentee ballots hand delivered to the Board of Elections.
Wake County Deputy Elections Director Gary Sims told ABC11 officials became concerned when six ballots were delivered to the elections office by Morrisville Town Council Member Steve Deihl late last week.
According to North Carolina election law, most absentee ballots have to be mailed in.
“If somebody is walking in, turning in absentee ballots, it has to be done by the voter or a near relative – else it has to be mailed in to our office,” explained Sims.
But Sims said Deihl is not related to any of the people casting the absentee ballots he delivered.
“It’s not something we normally see,” said Sims.
By phone Thursday, Diehl told ABC11 he was just helping out a friend.
“The person said ‘Hey, you going down there to the board of elections? Could you save me the postage and drop them off,’” he explained.
That friend is also a Morrisville council member who’s running for re-election: Linda Lyons.
And Sims says Lyons may have also violated election law by picking up absentee ballots directly from voters. Unless they’re family members, you can’t do that.
The fact that the Board of Elections turned the matter over to the District Attorney caught Diehl by surprise.
“I know nothing about the rules and regulations regarding absentee ballots. I had no reason to check into them,” he told ABC11.
If proven true, some of the allegations could be felonies. The investigation is getting underway and no charges have been filed.
We reached out to Lyons for comment on this story and are waiting to hear back.
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