North Carolina's new elections board was sworn in on Wednesday. In their first meeting this morning, the board—which now has a 3-2 Republican majority—selected Republican Francis DeLuca as their new chair. They also dismissed the state's executive director Karen Brinson Bell, who was appointed by former Democratic governor Roy Cooper in 2019, declining to renew her appointment for another two-year term. They voted to hire Republican attorney Samuel Hayes instead.
Board member Siobhan Millen, a Democrat, blasted the vote.
"I think this is a shabby way to treat a nationally admired executive election director and further that the recent habit of changing the executive director whenever the composition of the election board changes runs counter to our goal to to bolster people's faith in fair elections," she said. Past Democratic-led boards have also hired their own elections directors.
Brinson Bell tried to make a statement after the vote, but the board adjourned without letting her speak.