North Carolina: Elections board member resigns under fire | WRAL

Hours after Gov. Pat McCrory called on him to step down and after initially refusing to do so, Paul Foley resigned from the State Board of Elections following disclosures he pressed for details in an investigation that involved one of his law firm’s clients. Elections board Chairman Josh Howard announced Foley’s resignation early Thursday. In a statement, Foley said he hoped his resignation would help “avoid distractions from the important work of the board.” Howard said in an email to Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach that he “regretfully” accepted Foley’s resignation.

North Carolina: Strach in, Bartlett out at NC Board of Elections | Charlotte Observer

The Republican-controlled State Board of Elections Wednesday chose Kim Westbrook Strach, a veteran campaign investigator, to be the elections board director. She will replace Gary Bartlett who had been elections director under the past three Democratic governors. The elections board vote was 3-2 along party lines, with Democrats voting in opposition saying they had not time to examine Strach’s credentials and thought there should be a longer transition for Bartlett. The move came just several days after Republican Gov. Pat McCrory named a new elections board, a move that typically occurs when there is a change in political parties.