CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – An incident of election signs being removed has tempers on edge this election day. The sign in question was made by a supporter of CMS school board hopeful Summer Nunn.
The sign shows a list of books Moms of Liberty have expressed concern over. Nunn’s opponent and the incumbent for the position Sean Strain is accused of pulling up one sign and taking another from the supporter’s hands
According to police incident reports, this all played out Saturday afternoon. Debbie Baynard, who didn’t wish to go on camera for this story tells WBTV she was informed the sign she made was pulled up by Sean Strain, and a second one she was holding he took from her hands.
In a statement from the Strain campaign, WBTV was told “signs were removed after consulting with the board of elections of the libelous content and messaging, and after notifying the police”.
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When asked to clarify what was libelous about the signs, they did not respond.
The signs claim to show a list of books Moms for Liberty want to be banned and said the organization endorses Strain. A local member of Mom for Liberty said that’s what’s false, they don’t want the books banned.
Baynard went on to tell me that Strain yelled at her and accused her of harassing his 13-year-old daughter.
Summer Nunn, Strain’s opponent says the whole situation feels too ‘cutthroat’ for local politics.
“We should really just run our races on who we are but we also need to be who we are and embrace our endorsements and who we associate with so to some extent it felt like he crossed a line,” Nunn said.
In a North Carolina election commission meeting this morning, election officials said signs being tampered with is an every-year issue.
“I wish I could say in my 16 plus years of working in elections I could say there was an election where signs were not an issue but I can’t,” Noth Carolina state board executive director Karen Bell said.
In the end, an incident report was made but no charges are being considered at this time. Charges for removing, tampering, or destroying a political sign are a class 3 misdemeanor.
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