CULLOWHEE, N.C. (WLOS) — Following the controversies over the state auditor’s office’s role in the debate over where an early voting site should be held in Cullowhee, Dallas Woodhouse, the former head of NCGOP and former elections liaison of the North Carolina Auditor’s Office, has resigned.
“I believe the need for a dedicated Elections Liaison has naturally come to an end. Accordingly, I believe this is the appropriate time for me to move forward and return to the public policy, communications, and advocacy work that has defined much of my career,” Woodhouse said in the resignation letter.
Woodhouse’s resignation comes after Jackson County Board of Elections Chairmember Bill Thompson stated that he felt pressure from people in Raleigh to vote a certain way on an early voting site that would be on Western Carolina University’s campus.
Read more: STATE AUDITOR DEFENDS COMMENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA EARLY VOTING SITE DISPUTE
“[It was] after some FOIA request from some journalist – including NC Local – uncovered some text messages that Dallas Woodhouse had sent instructing board chairs what he would like them to do with certain early voting sites,” Cooper said.
Through a public records request, News 13 obtained text messages sent between Thompson and Woodhouse. The messages show Woodhouse telling Thompson, “Don’t let them have a vote,” before the June 2 vote, which decided where the Cullowhee voting site would be.
A message showing Dallas Woodhouse telling Bill Thompson, “Don’t let them have a vote,” before the June vote on the Cullowhee voting site. (WLOS via public records request)
The following message on June 3 follows the Cullowhee voting site, with Woodhouse instructing Thompson on what to say to local reporters, saying, “Go ahead and tell Lynn Bonner when she calls that there are concerns by you, local party members, people in Raleigh that opening a new site and closing a long-standing one in a general is bad practice.”
This June 3 message shows Dallas Woodhouse instructing Bill Thompson on what to say to local reporters. (WLOS via public records request)
As previously reported, Thompson said he felt pressure from the state auditor’s office to keep an early voting site at the Cullowhee Recreation Center.
“His [Thompson] statement was very simply ‘I am only voting for the recreation center because I have been pressured to do so and I promised them that I would do that,'” said Jay Pavey, a member of Jackson County Board of Elections.
Pavey says that although he has not had any direct communication with Woodhouse, he was informed by a member of the Republican Party of alleged indirect pressure from Woodhouse aimed at him.
Read more: NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS UPHOLDS COUNTY’S VOTE TO CLOSE WCU POLLING SITE
“It was said to me that Dallas Woodhouse had told him that if Wes Hanemayer and I did not vote the way the auditor’s office wanted us to vote, that he would do whatever he could do to have us removed from our positions,” Pavey said.
North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek previously confirmed that his office discussed the polling site issue with Thompson, stating that his office received a call after some board members expressed interest in eliminating the recreation center as an early voting site in favor of a location on Western Carolina University’s campus.
Following News 13’s initial reporting on the debate, Governor Josh Stein took to X, criticizing the state auditor’s office for the role it played in a debate over the location of an early voting site in Cullowhee for the upcoming general election.
‘IT’S OUTRAGEOUS’: GOV. STEIN BLASTS STATE AUDITOR’S ROLE IN EARLY VOTING SITE DEBATE
Woodhouse reportedly was reassigned from his position as Elections Liaison on July 8.
“He [Woodhouse] was first relocated to a new position within the auditor’s office and just last night [July 13] resigned,” Cooper said.
Following the reassignment on July 9, Stein then took to Facebook to criticize the auditor’s decision to reassign Woodhouse, saying in part, “To ‘reassign’ the former Executive Director of the NC Republican Party is too little too late.”
On Monday, July 13, Woodhouse sent his letter of resignation to the auditor’s office.
“It, of course, talks about how much he likes the auditor and what a great job the auditor’s done and some of the bipartisan initiatives, but at the same time says he, meaning Dallas Woodhouse, underestimated how much elections should be decided at the local level and how much local voices truly mattered,” said Chris Cooper, Western Carolina University political science professor.
Despite talking of his appreciation for the auditor and local election officials in his resignation letter, Woodhouse makes no mention of the texts sent to Thompson.
In the resignation letter, Woodhouse mentions that selecting early voting sites is a difficult responsibility that local election officials face, with every county presenting different issues.
“There is rarely a perfect answer, and reasonable people frequently reach different conclusions,” Woodhouse said.
READ MORE: ‘FAR SUPERIOR SITE’: GOP BOARD MEMBER SUPPORTS WCU VOTING LOCATION AHEAD OF STATE VOTE
Woodhouse says his advice was not always correct and that within his communication, he wishes he were more precise.
“I am certain that my advice was not always correct. Looking back, there are recommendations I might make differently today. I certainly would have been more precise in my communications at times,” Woodhouse said. “But every recommendation I offered was made honestly, thoughtfully and with integrity. My only objective was to help local boards comply with the law while improving voter access and strengthening public confidence in our elections.”
Cooper says that while most voters are not aware of the ins and outs of election administration, controversies like the text messages Woodhouse sent to Thompson shine a negative light on the election system, and that could impact voter trust.
“Trust really is the lifeblood of elections and so anytime you have an incident like this. It seems to run against the grain; it does sometimes negatively impact people’s trust and the electoral system,” Cooper said.
Despite the resignation of Woodhouse and the votes to change the early voting location site, Amanda Allen, the Jackson County Board of Elections Director, says the early voting plan is still on track.
JACKSON COUNTY BOARD VOTES TO CLOSE WCU POLLING SITE; ISSUE HEADS TO STATE
“In our instance, we had one dissenting vote, so we have to present that to the state board. So we submit kind of like a survey to them, telling them what our different plans are,” Allen said.
Allen says that after the county submits its plan, the state Board of Elections will view it and pull data, as well as supplemental materials that county board members may be presenting as well.
After the county presents the plan, the state board will either choose the minority plan, majority plan or modify the plans to something else.