Elections director confirms early voting incident | News

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – With Tuesday night's primary elections right around the corner, one voter in New Hanover County is not satisfied with her voting experience.

Board of Elections Director Marvin McFadyen confirmed Monday that someone filed an incident report about a person assisting a voter at the polls. It alleged that a precinct official suggested two candidates for the woman to elect while she voted last week.

McFadyen said this is the first time he's dealt with the issue since he became the director in 2011. Precinct officials are held to high standards, according to McFadyen.

"You may feel intimidated by them, but they're just trying to help," said McFadyen.

McFadyen said he provided statements from both the voter and the precinct official to the members of New Hanover County's Board of Elections. As this is the first reported incident, McFadyen said there will be no action taken against the official.

"It doesn't warrant a dismissal unless it's repeated," said McFadyen.

McFadyen added that local precincts maintain a good mix of Republican and Democratic workers, and that they all know that politics are not a part of their election duties.

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