COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – New messages reveal state involvement in the Columbus County elections board’s controversial proposals to cut early voting sites.
Dallas Woodhouse, the then-elections liaison with the state auditor’s office, told Columbus County Elections Board Chair Jillian McPherson-Edge that five early voting sites was “overkill” — and that three sites was “plenty.”
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which has criticized the push to scrap early voting locations, obtained the message through a public records request to the Columbus County Board of Elections and shared it with WECT.
“As of now mark Columbus County tentatively for 3 sites…Whiteville, Chadbourn and Tabor City,” Woodhouse texted McPherson-Edge and one other person in a group chat on May 27. “With roughly 37,000 registered voters 3 sites is plenty. I agree 5 is overkill, but but we can’t go below 3.”
McPherson-Edge liked the message, the screenshot shows.
Two weeks after that May 27 exchange, on June 8, McPherson-Edge changed her proposal from one early voting location to three — the same number Woodhouse had recommended. Both Woodhouse and McPherson-Edge are Republicans, and Woodhouse previously headed the North Carolina GOP.
Curtis Hill, president of the Columbus County NAACP chapter, said the messages show partisan, state interference in a local process.
“What (Woodhouse) did was talk about systematically doing voter suppression across Columbus County,” Hill said. “These should be local decisions at local communities, coming up with decisions, and what we’re finding, is they were influenced by the party they were in.”
McPherson-Edge issued a statement in response to the messages, denying Woodhouse’s texts had any influence on her decisions as a board member.
“The text messages being circulated reflect a professional and constructive conversation about what was believed to be in the best interest of Columbus County and the voters we serve. I respect and value the experience that people like Dallas Woodhouse bring to discussions about election administration,” the board chair wrote. “While I appreciated input from experienced individuals, my decisions were my own, informed by the expertise and guidance of our highly respected Elections Director, Ashley Collins. Neither the State Auditor’s Office nor any outside individual directed or controlled my decisions, and no one outside the Columbus County Board of Elections made decisions on the board’s behalf.”
Woodhouse resigned from his job as elections liaison last month. In a text message Tuesday, he said five sites in Columbus County for a non-presidential election “was a waste of valuable taxpayer money,” and he was “proud” of the work he did with McPherson-Edge to “protect access and taxpayer resources.”
“The exchange of data, ideas and feedback from all sides and perspectives is exactly what is needed to make local early voting plans as strong as they can be,” Woodhouse wrote, noting there’s “no scandal” in giving “friendly advice” to elections chairs that the auditor’s office appointed.
Woodhouse’s text to McPherson-Edge noted a three-site early voting plan “matches some other key goals,” but didn’t detail specifics. On Tuesday, he said that was referring to geographic diversity in where early voting locations are.
In the last midterm election, in 2022, Columbus County had five sites across the county with locations in Whiteville, Chadbourn, Tabor City, Fair Bluff and Riegelwood.
After pushback from residents, the county elections board was ultimately split between a four-site plan and a five-site plan. The State Elections Board is scheduled to consider both plans at a meeting on Aug. 20.
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