Mecklenburg County Democratic Party Grievance

To: Jim Slaughter Chair – NCDP Council of Review Re: Grievance Concerning Precinct Organization for the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party

Dear Mr. Slaughter:

Pursuant to the North Carolina Democratic Plan of Organization Section 9.0 (Council of Review), I wish to bring to your attention that the recent precinct organization process conducted by the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party was not done in accordance with the Party’s Open Party Principle, including the Precinct Organization and Meeting Notice Requirements. This highly flawed process resulted in numerous votes being cast at the December 6, 2007 County Executive Committee meeting by representatives from precincts which were not properly organized under the rules established by the Plan of Organization. The number of votes cast by these representatives was sufficient to have affected the results of the election for Mecklenburg County Sheriff.

The facts are as follows:

1.A comparison between the lists of organized precincts published on the website www.mecklenburgdemocrat.org on September 30 and an updated list of precinct committees dated November 29 indicates that 68 of the 119 (57.1%) organized precincts permitted to send voting representatives to the December 6 meeting were organized during October and November. This represents an unusually large number of precincts organized well after the precinct organization time period established under the Plan of Organization. (Section 1.04 Precinct Meetings)

2.There were no public announcements of the time and place for the precinct committee meetings held in October and November. Past precinct committee members and elected officials from the newly organized precincts were not notified of these meetings. There were no phone calls or mailings to party regulars living in those precincts to notify them of the meetings. A notice posted on the party’s website on November 14 indicates only that the precinct organization deadline is November 20, and does not indicate time or place of any meetings. There were no public announcements posted at polling places as required nor was notice placed in local newspapers. Section 11.02 of the NCDP Plan of Organization requires 14 days written notice prior to such meetings.

3.A comparison of the current list of precinct committee members with precinct lists from past years indicates that several precincts which have been organized for many years by party regulars living in those precincts were re-organized without an attempt to contact the previous members. The re-organization of these precincts resulted in the disenfranchisement of long-time party activists. A review of the newly organized precincts reveals unusual geographic and demographic patterns which may have resulted from the lack of proper public meeting notification to active Democrats throughout the community.

4.Meetings of party officials were held to discuss how to organize precincts prior to the meeting of the MCDP County Executive Committee to elect the new Sheriff. The minutes of the August 10 meeting and other documents indicate that new precinct meeting rules were established which violated the requirement for prior public notice required in the Plan of Organization as posted and publicly available on the NCDP website www.ncdp.org.

5.Local press reports published prior to and since the December 6 election indicate that one of the candidates was actively organizing precincts. Since it is the responsibility of the Party rather than candidates to organize precincts, there is a question of the purpose behind the organization of these precincts.

6.There is evidence that there may have been irregularities concerning the voting process at the December 6 election. Further review of all the voting records is needed before the vote is certified.

In conclusion, it is obvious that the majority of the organized precincts allowed to send voting representatives to the December 6 meeting were organized in a manner which did not comply with the NCDP Plan of Organization. These precincts were not eligible to send voting representatives to the meeting. Many active Democrats were barred from participating in the process as a result of the lack of proper public meeting notice and the votes of legitimate MCDP County Executive Committee members were diluted by the addition of votes from precincts which were not organized according to the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Plan of Organization.

The result of the election held on December 6 is in doubt due to the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party’s failure to follow the precinct organization process detailed in the Plan of Organization. As an active MCDP Executive Committee member for many years and as an eligible voter who cast a ballot at the December 6 Mecklenburg County Democratic County Executive Committee Special Election, I am requesting that the NCDP Council of Review consider the facts of this case and vacate the results of the December 6 election for Mecklenburg County Sheriff.

Jane Whitley

Courtesy of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party