Voter fraud case before NC Supreme Court may determine how much power state election officials have

By MAKIYA SEMINERA
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments related to voter fraud allegations made after the 2016 election. The Thursday hearing may set the stage for how partisan officials can pursue claims of voter fraud in future state elections. A group of four voters claimed in a 2017 lawsuit they were defamed by supporters of former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory after he lost to now Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper by about 10,000 votes in 2016. The lawsuit says McCrory supporters submitted election protests to local elections board falsely claiming the voters had double voted. The defendants say they had legal immunity to make those allegations.