Three North Carolina Republican activists have sued for new state party leadership elections to be conducted after they say voting procedures and other rules governing last month’s state convention were violated.
The lawsuit filed this week by Mike Urben, Andrae DeHaan and Aryn Schloemer in Wake County court alleges that a mobile voting app used for the convention wrongly allowed delegates who weren’t on the floor to vote, news outlets reported.
The plaintiffs said “many noted irregularities” led to questions about the integrity of the vote, in which Michael Whatley was reelected to another two-year term as chairman.
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Other failures to follow convention rules meant some party business items were never addressed and an election for vice chair was not held, according to the lawsuit. It also contends that Vice Chair Susan Mills shouldn’t be allowed to continue serving in that post as a result.
Since the leadership has failed to address the activists’ concerns, the “plaintiffs bring this lawsuit to get the NCGOP to follow its own rules,” the complaint said.
State Republican Party spokesperson Jeff Moore declined to comment Wednesday, saying the party’s attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit. The state party is the lone defendant.
Whatley had been challenged in the chairman’s election by John Kane, who has publicly made some similar complaints.
About 1,700 delegates registered and were credentialed for the four-day convention, according to the lawsuit.