North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek has recently hired Dallas Woodhouse, former Executive Director of the North Carolina Republican Party, to be the Election Liaison between the auditor’s office and the 100 county election boards in the state.
Boliek announced that Woodhouse would be his “eyes and ears on the ground” for election work. This comes months after the state Supreme Court allowed a highly controversial Republican-backed law, which strips the Democratic governor of power over the state board of elections and hands it to the Republican auditor, to take effect.
NC Governor Josh Stein called the move an unconstitutional power grab and sued over the legislation. However, the lawsuit is still playing out in court, and a judge has allowed Boliek’s power under the law to stay as litigation continues.
Under Boliek’s direction, each of the 100 county boards was changed to have a Republican majority, 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Now, each of those members will report to and undergo training from Woodhouse.
Though Woodhouse has never held official office, his involvement in North Carolina politics is lengthy. Woodhouse led a number of “deep-pocketed conservative political groups” before being elected to chair the state Republican party, according to WRAL, which first reported Woodhouse’s new appointment. He also worked as a campaign launch director for Senate leader Phil Berger’s congressional run back in 2013.
Following that, Woodhouse served as the chairman of the NCGOP from 2015 to 2019, heading the state party through several controversies. In 2018, Woodhouse was party chair when election fraud allegations concerning then congressional candidate Mark Harris arose when a contractor working for Harris filled out voters’ absentee ballots. Woodhouse defended Harris at the time and urged the election board to certify Harris’ win. The board did not certify the race, choosing to instead hold a new election, which Harris did not participate in.
The following year, Woodhouse resigned from his position as state party Executive Director, shortly after the party chair Robin Hayes pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges– which he was pardoned of in 2021 by President Donald Trump.
At the first meeting of the North Carolina Board of Elections following Woodhouse’s hiring, board members clashed over concerns about his involvement with the state’s elections. Woodhouse has frequently voiced support for voter suppression measures, from railing against Sunday voting to requesting that election officials reduce polling hours and locations.
It was called into question whether Woodhouse could complete his electoral duties without a partisan bias. Siobhan Millen, a Democrat on the board, described Woodhouse as a “highly-partisan figure”, arguing that his bias does not align with election integrity.
“It’s difficult to imagine a person who would be less suited to bringing election integrity,” Millen said. “I don’t think it enhances public confidence.”
