This short video was taken at the conclusion of the June 8 meeting. When asked, Chair Dave Collins and Elections Board Sharon Main confirmed that the selection of an Early Voting Plan would move on to the NC State Board. If you were one of the 75 plus advocates who attended the meeting you would understand why the public was confused.
The Chair chose not to share many specifics with the attending public and although “discussion” was listed on the agenda, Collins quickly quelled it. Chair Collins also eliminated public comment for this meeting. The only explanation arrived in an email from the director on Wednesday morning, “The board has reached a decision regarding the early voting plan, and no further discussion is needed.”
Thanks to members Evelyn Medina and Dee Dee Wright, the plan (“not to be discussed,” per Collins) was not rubber-stamped. Medina was allowed a couple of comments as was Elaine Hewitt. Collins would not allow Wright to speak. Member John Leatherman did not attempt to speak.
Following the meeting, the response from those attending was to gather within the Rowan Community Center public space and celebrate our shared community with patriotic cookies. Many stood in line to share their denied public comments and thoughts of the meeting with the Salisbury Post. (watch for future coverage from our local paper.)
Breaking news from NBC on 7/8/26 brought attention to Early Voting plans in NC and to attendees. Because of the recent breaking news of the “reassignment” of NC State Auditor’s Dave Boliek’s appointed right hand man, Dallas Woodhouse. (Boliek is now in charge of NC elections after the General Assembly took that right away from the NC Governor’s office.) Reporters discovered through Freedom of Information links that Woodhouse was interfering in some NC counties with decisions that are supposed to be made by local County Elections Boards.
From NC Newsline, 7/8/26: “Voting rights groups had been suspicious of Woodhouse’s position in Boliek’s office given his work history. Ten years ago, when he was GOP state director, he sent a memo to Republican members of county election boards telling them to limit early voting hours and keep sites closed on Sundays.” https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/08/former-gop-operative-moved-from-elections-liaison-job-in-the-nc-auditors-office/ “For more than a decade, Dallas Woodhouse has actively worked to slash early voting for North Carolinians,” said Common Cause NC Director Sailor Jones. “Make no mistake, no one in the state Auditor’s Office should have the mandate to meddle with our state’s early voting options.”
Both Common Cause NC and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice were present at the Rowan County Elections Board meeting on July 8 and are nonpartisan organizations that advocate for voters as part of their mission statement. https://www.commoncause.org/north-carolina/ and https://southerncoalition.org/.
As you talk with friends and family, never forget – Protecting the vote and adding additional Saturdays and Sundays to an Early Voting Plan is not a partisan act.
If you are a Rowan Resident, please sign our Rowan Resolve petition. We used a free online tool, so ignore the ads and just add your signature. There’s no charge!
THE ROWAN RESOLVE PETITION – https://c.org/X5DygCQK9c