Republican Mary Potter Summa Sat On The 2024 Mecklenburg County Board Of Elections. [Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, accessed 7/24/24]
Mary Potter Summa Voted Against Certifying The November 2020 Election Results. “The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections certified its elections results, and for the first time in recent memory, the vote to certify wasn’t unanimous. In a 3-2 vote along party lines, two Republican board members — Elizabeth McDowell and Mary Potter Summa — voted against certifying the results. Summa said she believes the order that came down from the State Board of Elections adjusting some of the requirements for absentee by-mail voting violates state law.” [WFAE, 11/14/20]
Mary Potter Summa Said She Voted Against Certification Because She Believed The State Board Of Elections’ Order Adjusting Certain Mail-In Voting Requirements Was Illegal. “In a 3-2 vote along party lines, two Republican board members — Elizabeth McDowell and Mary Potter Summa — voted against certifying the results. Summa said she believes the order that came down from the State Board of Elections adjusting some of the requirements for absentee by-mail voting violates state law. In prior elections, absentee ballots were accepted up to three days after Election Day. For this general election, the State Board of Elections settled a lawsuit with an agreement to extend the deadline to nine days after the elections. A judge signed off on that agreement, and it was upheld despite legal challenges. Summa claimed ballots were counted when the return envelopes didn’t have the required information from witnesses.” [WFAE, 11/14/20]
Mary Potter Summa Cited Concerns With The State Elections Boards’ Guidance On Mail-In Ballots And Ballot Curing, Even Though Four Courts Had Reportedly Approved The State Board’s Guidance. “After about three hours of discussion, the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections finally certified 100 percent of the reported election results, but only the three Democrats on the five-member board actually approved. The two Republicans voted no. ‘I have been on this board for 11 years. I have certified every 22 elections. This is the first time I have not voted to certify an election,’ board member Mary Potter Summa said. The Republican board members disagree with new State Board of Elections guidance this year, which extended the period after the election mail-in ballots could be accepted and allowed the cure process to fix errors on mail-in ballot envelopes to be easier. ‘We counted ballots that did not have names and addresses of witnesses that are required under North Carolina law in order to be counted,’ Summa said. But Democrats on the local Mecklenburg County board argue they were following directives straight from the top of those in command--the State Board of Elections. All 100 counties in North Carolina were required by courts to follow the same rules. ‘Four courts have said that procedure which the State Board of Elections has put into place was approved,’ said board member John Gresham.” [Fox 46 Charlotte, 11/14/20]
Mary Potter Summa Claimed The NC State Board Of Elections Director Improperly Claimed Emergency Powers, Which Was Why “Many Republican Members On Local Boards Of Election Voted Against Certification.” “Implementing a tactic used in several states, the director of the NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) claimed emergency powers. (Never mind that under NC law, emergency powers were designed to be triggered in cases of a ‘disruption of the election schedule,’ which there was not.) Singlehandedly, without board approval, the director issued directives dictating early voting sites, dismantling statutorily required witness requirements on absentee ballots, forcing approval of absentee ballots that were not postmarked on Election Day (also in violation of NC law) and forcing counties to accept absentee ballots that were received up to nine days after the election. The director also instructed county boards that they could not compare voter signatures on absentee ballot envelopes to the voter’s registration signatures. [...] Because hundreds of ballots were counted in violation of state law, many Republican members on local boards of election and one Republican on the State Board of Elections voted against certification of the election results. Yet, because the state and all local boards are controlled by Democrats, the votes were certified in compliance with the director’s edicts. Every state should use the past election to learn a lesson: Election laws need to be strengthened to ensure that those laws are not nullified by bureaucrats and are strict enough to protect the integrity of the election results.” [North State Journal, Op-Ed Mary Potter Summa, 3/17/21]
October 2016: Mary Potter Summa Said Voters “Should Be Confident That Their Votes Will Be Counted.” “Notwithstanding the ongoing litigation, one elections board member from Charlotte said voters can be confident. ‘Voters should be confident that their votes will be counted, either by filling out paper ballots or voting on the machines,’ said Republican Mary Potter Summa. ‘In terms of votes coming in and votes being counted, as a lawyer and as a person who took an oath, I would not certify (the election) unless I felt it was absolutely right.’” [Charlotte Observer, 10/7/20]
Mary Potter Summa Said, “I’m Not A Big Fan Of Early Voting.” “Before kicking off Monday's 2 1/2-hour meeting, board chair Mary Potter Summa, a Republican, told the crowd that she's ‘not a fan of early voting.’ ‘The more (early voting) sites we have, the more opportunities exist for violations,’ she said. When she opened the floor for comment, 33 people spoke in favor of more early voting hours, or at least as many as in 2012. Only one argued for fewer.” [Charlotte Observer, 8/15/16]
Mary Potter Summa Claimed – Without Documentation – That “Campaign And Party Officials” Had Coerced Voters Into Voting Their Way. “We know this also because we heard precisely the same claims this week from Mary Potter Summa, the Mecklenburg Board of Elections chair. In a letter to the editor she emailed Wednesday, Summa recounted how ‘campaign and party officials’ have coerced voters at Mecklenburg precincts into joining them behind the voting screen. Then, those voters would cast ballots the officials wanted. That would be big news. We asked Summa what evidence she had. ‘I do have documentation from poll observers,’ she said. Did they file complaints? ‘Interesting idea,’ she said. In other words, she had hearsay. Her evidence was what some people think they saw, or assumed they saw, or wanted to believe happened behind a voting screen. With only that in hand, the elections board chair of Mecklenburg County was willing to publicly accuse ‘campaign and party officials’ of breaking the law. Was she serious? Incredibly, yes.” [Charlotte Observer, Editorial, 9/12/16]
2016: Mary Potter Summa Voted To Shorten Mecklenburg County’s Early Voting Hours And Number Of Early Voting Sites. “Mecklenburg County ’s early voting strategy will be decidedly different from 2012. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Elections voted Monday to shorten hours and sites for the 2016 elections. The panel’s Republican majority of Mary Potter Summa and Elizabeth McDowell voted to open six sites the first week and 22 over the final 10 days for a total of 2,054 hours. Democrat Carol Williams opposed. The meeting came on the heels of a July 29 decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn North Carolina’s voter ID law. The federal ruling eliminated the photo identification restriction while restoring same-day registration, pre-registration for 16-and 17-year-olds and out-of-precinct voting. Counties have to decide by Aug. 19 a strategy to make as many as 17 days of early voting available between Oct. 20-Nov. 5.” [Charlotte Post, 8/18/16]
Mary Summa Was General Counsel For The N.C. Values Coalition. “Mary Summa, general counsel for the N.C. Values Coalition, suggested that parents ask schools which groups are involved with after-school clubs. Justice said parents should write a letter to their superintendent and school board asking what non-profit groups are coming into schools where students may have access to an adult who isn't a school staff member.” [News & Observer, 4/18/24]