Records show Durham Mayor voted improperly in March—how you can avoid the same mistakes in this election
Records show Durham Mayor voted improperly in March—how you can avoid the same mistakes in this election
An exclusive review of public records reveal first-term Durham Mayor Leo Williams likely committed a Class I felony when he voted using a former residential address in the March 2024 primary election.
This BCPI article is written by Brian Callaway, who also serves as a Durham County precinct official.
A special note to any interested voters who are NOT currently registered in Durham County: in order for your vote to be counted on Election Night this year, at this point you will need to Early Vote. Early voting ends Saturday at 3pm. You can register to vote in Durham County during early voting–more information is at the end of this article.
To assure your vote is counted in this election, you must be registered with the Durham Board of Elections (BOE). The Durham BOE maintains a database of over 250,000 local registered voters and is continuously updating their records as voters move into, out of and within the county. If you want to vote, it is important to provide accurate and updated information to the BOE, otherwise you run the risk of being identified as an “Inactive” voter which can eventually lead to being removed from the voter roll.
That first warning flag is what was issued to Durham Mayor, Leonardo Williams, earlier this year. From May 15, 2024 through September, Durham’s Mayor was officially listed as an “Inactive” voter in the public voter registration records.
While inactive voters are still considered registered voters according to the State Board of Elections, the designation identifies voters who have not voted in the last two federal election cycles and/or are registered at an address that the local BOE is unable to verify as a current residence.
As part of their regular maintenance work on the database of voters, the Durham BOE receives a list twice per year of change of address applications filed with the US Postal Service to cross-reference and update voter records. According to a public information request fulfilled by Derek Bowens, Director of Elections for Durham County, a list received from the USPS on January 8, 2024 showed the Mayor had filed a change of address with the postal service.
Per their official process, the Durham BOE sent address confirmation mailings to Mr. Williams’s address on file at the time, a Leigh Farm Road apartment, first on January 11, 2024 and again on February 15, 2024. Both mailing attempts were returned to the BOE as undeliverable, indicating that Mr. Williams no longer resided at that address.
However, as confirmed by the Durham BOE, Mr. Williams voted on March 5, 2024 at his former precinct and signed a certification notice affirming he had lived at the Leigh Farm Road address “for 30 days immediately prior to this election.” The postal service change of address notification and failed BOE contact mailings strongly suggest this was an improper voting address for Mr. Williams.
All voters in North Carolina are asked twice to certify their address when they vote. First, they must present photo identification then verbally state their name and current address to begin the voting process. Once a poll worker confirms their identity and eligibility to vote at the stated address, an “Authorization to Vote” form is presented to the voter for review showing the stated name and declared address.
At the top of the page in all capital letters, the form states: “FRAUDULENTLY OR FALSELY COMPLETING THIS FORM IS A CLASS I FELONY UNDER CHAPTER 163 OF THE NC GENERAL STATUTES.” The voter is asked to sign this form to provide written certification that they have lived at the stated address for the last 30 days, they are a US Citizen, they are over 18 years of age and they have not been convicted of a felony that may disqualify them to vote.
Durham Mayor is Not Alone
It is unusual for a voter’s status to change to “Inactive” immediately after that voter had voted in an election, as occurred with Mr. Williams. Within the past month, the Durham Mayor has resolved his voter registration status and provided the BOE with an updated address, which now matches an address he had previously provided to the City on required disclosure forms.
Other public officials and candidates for office in North Carolina have had similar voting irregularity issues. WRAL reported in February this year that Brad Knott, a Republican candidate in Wake County for the 13th Congressional District, had been voting under his parents’ address for at least eight years while he had lived in his own house. WRAL made the report before the primary.
According to statements made by the Wake County District Attorney to WRAL, it appeared there would be no legal or prosecutorial consequences for Mr. Knott beyond possibly a verbal warning. Republican voters also appeared to overlook the issue: Knott would go on to win a special runoff election and is the Republican candidate on the ballot in the current general election.
In a much more serious allegation, former White House Chief of Staff and previous NC Congressional Republican Mark Meadows was accused of registering to vote in NC in the 2020 election at an address that he didn’t appear to reside. After months of investigation, the NC Attorney General’s office, led by Josh Stein, declined to pursue charges against Mr. Meadows.
How to Prevent Irregular Voting Behavior
Although investigations and prosecutions for misrepresenting your address when voting have been limited, there are several benefits (beyond the mere act of being truthful) to keeping your address up to date. For one, if you vote on Election Day at a local precinct, it is most likely you live closer to your correct precinct rather than the precinct of a former address. Secondly, the races on your ballot match the combination of candidates seeking to serve the area you live in, so in theory those candidates should be discussing and advocating for local issues that relate more to your current address.
Here are some simple steps to verify your current registration and best prepare yourself to vote in the current general election:
Visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections Voter Search website and type in your name to review your registration information. Even if you are currently considered an “Inactive” voter, you can still vote in this election–you’ll only need to verbally verify or update your current address when you check-in at the polling place (no additional documentation is required for “Inactive” voters, only a verbal confirmation and then review of your address update.)
If you are registered, you can scroll down on the Voter Search website and view your Sample Ballot. There are dozens of different ballot styles across Durham County, so it is worth looking at yours before voting so you can be prepared and know which races you’ll be voting on.
If you are not currently registered to vote in Durham County—whether you have moved here from out of state or from a different county—then at this point in order to vote and be guaranteed that your ballot will be counted on election night, you need to make a plan to Early Vote by 3pm Saturday at one of the twelve sites across the County. Early voting permits voters to perform on the spot new voter registration (“Same Day Voter Registration”). You’ll need to bring an acceptable photo identification as well as a document that proves your residency: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, other government document, or a current document issued from the institution who issued the photo identification. (Digital forms of proof of residency are accepted.)
If you are already registered to vote in Durham County but you have moved to a new address within Durham County OR are currently listed as an “Inactive” voter, you are able to update your address when you show up to vote. If you are Early Voting today or tomorrow, you can do that at any of the twelve sites. If you are voting on Election Day this coming Tuesday, you can use this Election Day Polling Place Search link to search an address to find out where your Election Day precinct is. If you have moved within Durham, there is no need to visit your old precinct on Election Day—you can go directly to your new precinct and let them know you want to change your address. No documentation is required; your word and certification signature are your bond.
Voter ID is Now Required
New state law requiring photo ID went into effect last year, so this is the first presidential election with the requirement in place. Copies of ID—digital or paper— are not accepted; you must be able to present the actual ID card.
Photo ID is only used to establish reasonable resemblance between the person and the ID card. It does not matter what address is printed on the ID. There are many acceptable photo IDs including ID cards from numerous schools and places of employment. If you don’t have any photo ID, you can go to the Board of Elections office this Thursday or Friday to have a free photo ID made for you. The office does not issue photo IDs on Election Day or the day before. The Durham BOE has also recently moved to 3825 S. Roxboro Street Suite 101.
If you have any specific questions, the Durham BOE can be reached by phone at 919-560-0700.
Make a voting plan and be sure to vote regularly in this election!