Ex-felons can run for election to the North Carolina General Assembly this year, the state Board of Elections decided Tuesday, upholding a county elections board's decision that the former felon was released for crimes from another state. did.
State commissioners at the meeting unanimously approved last week's divisive decision by the Rockingham County Board of Elections to reject the candidate's challenge to Joseph Gibson III, allowing him to run for state House of Representatives. Resolved to declare himself eligible to run.
Gibson is scheduled to face U.S. Rep. Reece Pytle, who defeated Gibson in the 2022 primary with nearly 80% of the vote, in the March 5 Republican primary. The winner will not face Democratic opposition in the fall.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has raised $5.7 million since July for his gubernatorial bid.
Rockingham County Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Parnell argued in December that Gibson may not be eligible to run, citing information that Gibson had previous felony convictions dating back to the 1990s. The candidate filed an objection.
Under North Carolina law, a felon's right to vote, and thus his ability to run for office, is restored after he completes a term in prison or state supervision as a probationer or parolee. Parnell's filing states that she was unaware of any such repairs being made.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections has ruled that Joseph Gibson III has completed his sentence and probation and is eligible to run.
Gibson said at Tuesday's meeting that he had completed his sentence for the crime in Connecticut, which the county commission said included a probationary term in North Carolina that ended in 2008.
Mr. Gibson has no documentation of such a discharge, but he is not on the list of convicted felons provided to Rockingham County officials by the State Board of Elections. And a lawyer for the state board said Tuesday that Mr. Gibson does not necessarily have to present discharge papers to qualify for him.
Some state Republican activists who want to block Mr. Gibson's candidacy have accused him of having neo-Nazi beliefs. One of them said Democrats want Mr. Gibson's vote to embarrass Republicans.
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Gibson was cited in a 2022 report by a division of the Anti-Defamation League as having extreme views. Gibson denies the neo-Nazi accusations and told WRAL-TV last week that his podcast radio show receives calls from all political persuasions. His beliefs were not discussed at Tuesday's meeting.
The Rockingham board voted 3-2 along party lines to reject the challenge, with a majority of Democrats on the board. On Tuesday, the state commission's two Republicans agreed that it was appropriate to delay the county commission's decision, given the complex issues being scrutinized.
“The record is probably sufficient to support the conclusion that the county commission made,” Republican Commissioner Kevin Lewis said before Tuesday’s 4-0 vote.
