Politics

Past county GOP chair named to new Election Integrity Committee

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 5, 2021

The immediate past chair of the Henderson County Republican Party has been named to the starte party's new Election Integrity Committee.

The committee is composed of 16 members and Chaired by Buck Newton. Merry Guy, who served as the county GOP chair until she stepped down in March, was among those named to the committee. Others are Phil Strach, Carl Mischka, Kiernan Shanahan, Nathan Miller, Peter O’Connell, Jerol Kivett,
Deanne Brown, Phillip Stephens, Terrell Stephens, Melisa Taylor, Fred Galey, Wes Jones, Harold Eustache and Mark Edwards.
The Committee will focus on engaging with the County and the State Board of Elections, recruiting poll observers and election integrity volunteers, making statutory and administrative rule recommendations and refining the North Carolina Republican Party’s Election Integrity operational plan. The Committee will begin operations after the close of the NCGOP State Convention.

"Election integrity is an issue we must address head-on to move forward as a party and as a country," said NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley. "In 2020, the North Carolina Republican Party led the nation in implementing an effective statewide strategy to protect the vote. This Committee will spend the next year-and-a-half building on our past successes to ensure the 2022 elections in North Carolina remain fair and transparent.”