After losing two election directors already this year, Anson County has a new interim leader.
State Board of Elections executive director Sam Hayes on Wednesday appointed Gerald Poplin, a former Stanly County elections board member, to serve as interim elections director while the state searches for a permanent replacement.
Hayes announced the appointment during a news conference at the Anson County Board of Elections Office in Wadesboro, saying Poplin was recommended by Stanly County Elections Director Kimberly Blackwelder and Anson County Board of Elections Chair Kelly Newton.
"Gerald was willing to take this on, and given his background, we were happy to have him," Hayes said. "This is no small task. Let's be honest."
In brief remarks, Poplin said he saw his job as to "keep the seat warm" until the board could locate and hire a permanent director.
Poplin replaces Neva Helms, who resigned two weeks ago after about three months on the job. In her resignation letter, Helms said county leaders slashed her pay in her first week of employment and required her to come into the office during the county’s water outage. She also cited inadequate staffing, office security concerns and a lack of county support.
She also told The Charlotte Observer she called the sheriff's office after a local candidate, Kevin Adams, raised his voice during an argument with her at the elections office on July 21. Although she said no one threatened her, she told the newspaper she felt intimidated because she was alone in the office.
Hayes declined to comment on the specifics of Helms' allegations Wednesday, but said the state board had opened an investigation and was taking the claims seriously.
Hayes also called Helms' departure "unfortunate," saying he believed "she was doing a good job," and said the agency plans to examine "what went wrong, and what we can do to fix it."
Helms was the second elections director to leave the county this year. She succeeded longtime director Sherry Melton, who was removed earlier this year after the county Board of Elections asked the state to replace her over alleged election administration and ballot security problems.
