FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Chairman Hayes' Statement On Ninth District

Raleigh, NC — North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes has released the following statement:

"We are extremely concerned that early voting totals may have been leaked in Bladen County as reported by The Charlotte Observer. This action by election officials would be a fundamental violation of the sense of fair play, honesty, and integrity that the Republican Party stands for. We can never tolerate the state putting its thumb on the scale. The people involved in this must be held accountable and should it be true, this fact alone would likely require a new election. Accessing early vote totals before the overall results are final can clearly give an unfair advantage to one candidate over the other. The security and confidentiality of the early vote has concerned the Party for years. This, and the resignation of the Democrat Vice Chair of the Bladen County Board of Elections after the inquiry began, further represents the systematic failure of the election process in this area of the state going on for at least the last decade. Should this new election be warranted, the professionals at the State Board of Elections must assume control of the county board of elections operations in Bladen County, which has shown itself incapable of managing fair elections."