As an ambitious Republican governor with national ambitions, North Carolina's Pat McCrory probably always dreamt of the day he would make national headlines. He hit the jackpot in 2016—first with his calamitous law targeting LGBTQ citizens for discrimination and now with his desperate bid to delegitimize the vote that was a referendum on his tenure. Facing defeat in a state Donald Trump won handily, McCrory has engaged in a scorched-earth attack on the integrity of North Carolina's elections. Apparently, that's what a "sore loser" does when they don't like the results, writes the national newspaper of record, the New York Times.
Mr. McCrory, a governor who brought disgrace and financial loss to his state by championing a bill to discriminate against gay and transgender people, demanded a recount and began scouring voting rolls for evidence of fraud. [...] His fight appears likely to serve as rationale for a renewed effort in the legislature to make North Carolina’s voting laws and regulations even more onerous.
The McCrory campaign has alleged that his defeat resulted from “massive voter fraud,” an irresponsible claim for which there is no evidence. It challenged the eligibility of 43 voters, contending they were felons. A review of public records by Democracy North Carolina, a voting rights group, established that nearly half of those voters were not, in fact, ineligible.
“It’s scandalous that they would malign innocent people to poison the larger public’s trust in the election system,” Bob Hall, the executive director of Democracy North Carolina, said in an interview. It’s dishonorable for Mr. McCrory to promote voting fraud myths and add fuel to voter suppression efforts as he’s going out the door.
Wednesday night the State Board or Elections granted McCrory a recount in Durham County, a progressive stronghold, on a party line vote (three Republicans to two Democrats). That same night, McCrory challenger Roy Cooper surpassed the 10,000 vote lead marker that would prevent McCrory from demanding a statewide vote. Not all votes are in but Cooper still sat at 10,000-plus by early afternoon Thursday. The Durham County elections board—also Republican controlled—had originally rejected McCrory's request.
But hey, before McCrory goes down, he’s made it clear he’s gonna take the whole system with him.
