New Hanover elections director on leave as board moves towards removal

After less than three months on the job, DeNay Harris the New Hanover County Board of Elections director, is in the process of being terminated by the same board who hired her. 

During a special meeting on Monday, March 23, the board immediately went into a nearly three hour closed session to discuss personnel matters related to Harris. After returning to public session, Board Chair Jamie Getty stated that Harris would remain on administrative leave and that the decision was bipartisan and unanimous. 

“Director will remain on administrative leave until the conclusion of the review of this matter.  This is with bipartisan and unanimous support,” Getty stated. 

Harris previously served as Director of Elections and General Registrar for Charles City County, Virginia.

As first reported by WHQR Public Media, Harris’ relationship with county staff was troubled from the start, marked by allegations of email tampering, unauthorized access to election facilities, communication breakdowns, and other conflicts. Harris filed an HR complaint, alleging that her email was being monitored, manipulated, and erased. 

“My emails are being deleted without being sent. My emails are also being diverted to drafts and not sent. I am also noticing emails being opened and deleted. I have 191 emails deleted just today alone. My internal IT has noticed this as well. This is illegal and I am requesting assistance on this immediately,” Harris wrote in the complaint according to WHQR. 

The escalating tensions led board leadership to publicly address the controversy and distance itself from the director’s actions. Sources close to the situation tell Carolina Journal, the board is currently in the process of filling a petition with the North Carolina State Board of Elections to remove Harris as director. 

“This Board takes the confidentiality of personal and personnel matters seriously. We cannot control if the Elections Director chooses to waive her confidentiality, but the Board will continue to be bound by the law,” said Getty. “First, public comments by elections staff that disparage fellow county employees and public servants are unacceptable to this Board.” 

Getty went on to apologize for Harris’s comments, saying, “The Board did not authorize, nor does it endorse, any such communications. To those whose character and public service were maligned, we offer our sincere apologies.” 

After allegedly failing to report to work, deputies with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office went to Harris’ home to retrieve her laptop, which was then turned over to the county for forensic review. A third-party review of the device found no evidence of tampering or access. 

“Just eight months ago, this Board was seated as the guardians of election administration in New Hanover County. Since that time, on a bipartisan basis, we have made significant progress in improving transparency, election security, and the delivery of election services to the people of New Hanover County,” Getty said. “We have successfully conducted two elections and were aided in these efforts by the County Manager’s Office and other senior county officials. We thank them for working with this Board to improve elections in New Hanover County, despite a prior history of division between county and election leadership. We are proud that those days are behind us, and we will not go back.”

It’s unclear when the petition will be officially filed, but state law outlines the process.

With a majority vote of the local board to petition for a director’s removal, which is then sent to the State Board of Elections. The state board’s executive director, Sam Hayes, must notify the county director, who has 15 days to respond. The executive director then has 20 days to issue a decision, followed by a 20-day window for the State Board to intervene before it becomes final. 

“New Hanover elections director on leave as board moves towards removal” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.