RALEIGH, N.C. — The rules governing observers at polling places this year should be relaxed, a Wake County judge ruled Thursday, over objections from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The Republican Party lost a separate legal challenge, attempting to move the deadline earlier for mail-in ballots. Lawyers for the elections board said that would result in thousands of legitimate voters being disenfranchised.
But the GOP won its challenge aiming to tweak the rules for polling place observers. Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier blocked a rule that would have kept observers from coming and going throughout the day.
