Republican Stuart Smith Was A Member Of The 2024 Brunswick County Board Of Elections. [Brunswick County Board of Elections, accessed 6/7/24]
Stuart Smith Wanted The Brunswick County Board Of Elections To Leave The U.S. Alliance For Election Excellence, Saying, “There's Enough Concern Out There Now Across The Country About Reliable Elections, We Don't Need To Add To It.” “The Brunswick County Board of Elections voted 3-2 during its Tuesday, April 18 meeting to retain its membership in the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence. The vote comes after county commissioners last month adopted a resolution urging the board to terminate the membership. [...] Smith and Pelton agreed that leaving the Alliance was the right move, if only for the sake of perception. ‘‘I think if we do not eliminate this agreement, we're going to continue to have concerns in Brunswick County about our election and our credibility,’ Smith said. ‘I don't think our staff or Sara [LaVere] is never going to intentionally do anything that we all think is incorrect, but there will still be that perception. There's enough concern out there now across the country about reliable elections, we don't need to add to it.’” [Brunswick Beacon, 4/27/23] NOTE: Both Stuart Smith and Randy Pelton were quoted as saying “I think if we do not eliminate this agreement, we're going to continue to have concerns in Brunswick County about our election and our credibility” by separate news sources. It is not clear who the quote should be attributed to.
2022: Stuart Smith Voted Against Sunday Voting. “Republican members of the Brunswick County Board of Elections (BOE) voted last night (Tuesday, 7-19) to end Sunday voting in the County for the upcoming November elections. The County offered one Sunday for early voting in 2018, and two in 2020. Even though six persons spoke in favor of Sunday voting and no one spoke against it, the subsequent motion to have early voting include two Sundays (from 12 pm to 4 pm), in addition to two Saturdays (from 9 am to 3 pm), was opposed by the Republican BOE members. Neither championed even one day of Sunday voting. Members Randy Pelton and Stuart Smith opposed the motion; the three Democratic members, Boyd Williamson, Paula Clarity and Ed Lewis, voted in favor. BOE rules require a unanimous vote to pass; otherwise, the two sides each send a proposed early voting schedule to the State Board of Elections, which makes a final decision.” [Brunswick County Democrats Press Release, 7/22/22]
2018: Stuart Smith Voted Against A Voting Plan That Included Sunday Voting. “The State Board of Elections will decide if Brunswick County will offer voting on a Sunday during early voting for the Nov. 6 general election. Sunday voting has been proposed but denied in previous general election years when county elections board members Stuart Smith and Randy Pelton outvoted Boyd Williamson. Now that the board has four members, the vote on Sunday early voting hours was split 2-2 on two one-stop voting schedule proposals at the June 19 regular meeting. Elections director Sara Knotts offered the board two proposals for early voting dates beginning Oct. 18 and ending Nov. 3, with either Sunday hours on Oct. 28 or no Sunday hours. Carolyn Ferguson, the newest the elections board member, made a motion to include early voting from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 at three locations. Ferguson and board chairman Williamson voted in favor of Sunday early voting with Pelton and Smith opposed.” [Brunswick Beacon, 6/20/18]
2016: Stuart Smith Voted Against Sunday Voting. “The Brunswick County elections board has decided on an early voting schedule for the November general election, but won't offer any Sunday hours to voters. It was an issue the three-man board couldn't agree on, voting 2-1 during its meeting Monday, June 20, on a plan that avoided Sunday hours. Of the three voting schedules the board considered, one proposed opening the polls from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 only at the voting location at the Brunswick County complex in Bolivia. Board secretary Boyd Williamson advocated opening voting locations for one Sunday this fall while chairman Stuart Smith and board member Randy Pelton couldn't be swayed to try Sunday voting for the first time in Brunswick County. ‘I just don't get it. Why are we scared of (adding) voting for four hours on Sunday?’ Williamson asked. ‘In the past I have opposed Sunday voting and I still am,’ Pelton said. ‘Even if we approved Sunday voting, there's no guarantee it would be approved by the state.’” [Brunswick Beacon, 6/21/16]
Stuart Smith Was The Sole Vote Against Sending The State Board Of Elections A Letter Asking For A Revision Of Its Tabulation Policy On Blank Ballots. “The Brunswick County Board of Elections approved a draft of a letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections asking for a revision of its policy regarding tabulators that fail to alert voters if a blank ballot is cast. The board's goal is to ‘ensure that the voting process is easily accessible, fair, and accurate,’ the letter states. The draft was agreed to by a 4-1 vote, with board member Stuart Smith casting the dissenting vote. Smith, who participated in the meeting via conference call, had earlier provided the board a list of nine points explaining his stance.” [Brunswick Beacon, 5/28/20]
2020: Stuart Smith Voted Against Accepting 30 Military/Overseas Ballots. “During the Sept. 29 meeting, the board examined four ‘pending ballots’ — one returned by a family member (to the board of elections) not considered a ‘near relative.’ A fiancé, two nephews and one life partner reportedly delivered the ballots in question. After Pelton and other board members examined the absentee ballot return envelopes, the board accepted the ballots. In a 3-2 split, the board accepted 30 military/overseas ballots. Pelton and Smith cast the dissenting votes.” [Brunswick Beacon, 10/7/20]
Stuart Smith Was The Sole Vote Against Appointing A Convicted Felon As Elections Director. “A man convicted of felony drug possession in 1987 and forced to resign as Brunswick County clerk of courts has been named director of the county's Board of Elections. [...] Out of 22 applicants for the director's position, Mr. Bellamy was nominated by the county Board of Elections by a 2-1 vote. Willie Sloan and Alfonso Roach, the two members of the three-member county elections board appointed by the Democratic Party, gave Mr. Bellamy the nod. Stuart Smith, the Republican Party's appointee, was the lone dissenter. ‘I was concerned about the felony conviction,’ Mr. Smith said. "I thought there was potential concern from the public.’” [Star News, 2/25/04]
Stuart Smith Pushed For Early Voting, Saying, “If We Are Unable To Offer Early Voting In The Northern End Of The County, It Will Have A Direct Effect On Voters And Precinct Staff On Election Day.” “With two sites unavailable, the Brunswick County Board of Elections has called a special meeting to determine early voting locations. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers at 30 Government Center Drive Northeast in Bolivia. According to a news release, the Town of Leland is denying use of the Leland Cultural Arts Center and Leland Town Hall for early voting. Both sites have been used for early voting in previous elections, including in the 2016 primary and general elections when 7,933 votes were cast at the Arts Center and 8,336 were cast at Town Hall. That amounts to more than 26 percent of overall one-stop votes cast in the county. ‘If we are unable to offer early voting in the northern end of the county, it will have a direct effect on voters and precinct staff on Election Day,’ said Stuart Smith, Chairman of the Board of Elections. ‘The lack of early voting will increase voter wait times, lead to longer lines and difficult parking situations, especially at two Leland-area schools that will be in session on Election Day.’” [WECT, 2/13/18]
Stuart Smith: “The Lack Of Early Voting Will Increase Voter Wait Times, Lead To Longer Lines And Difficult Parking Situations, Especially At Two Leland-Area Schools That Will Be In Session On Election Day.” “With two sites unavailable, the Brunswick County Board of Elections has called a special meeting to determine early voting locations. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers at 30 Government Center Drive Northeast in Bolivia. According to a news release, the Town of Leland is denying use of the Leland Cultural Arts Center and Leland Town Hall for early voting. Both sites have been used for early voting in previous elections, including in the 2016 primary and general elections when 7,933 votes were cast at the Arts Center and 8,336 were cast at Town Hall. That amounts to more than 26 percent of overall one-stop votes cast in the county. ‘If we are unable to offer early voting in the northern end of the county, it will have a direct effect on voters and precinct staff on Election Day,’ said Stuart Smith, Chairman of the Board of Elections. ‘The lack of early voting will increase voter wait times, lead to longer lines and difficult parking situations, especially at two Leland-area schools that will be in session on Election Day.’” [WECT, 2/13/18]
2010: Stuart Smith Praised Brunswick County’s Election Security. “Smith, serving his seventh year as a Republican appointee on the board, said he wanted to do what he could to contribute to ‘make sure the election process is as fair as possible.’ ‘I like to think that we make sure the elections go as well as they possibly can, that everybody perceives that their vote counts,’ he said. Since he's been on the board he said they've had several election challenges but only one-an election in Sandy Creek-panned out as a discrepancy after someone cast write-in votes for the same person twice. ‘In Brunswick County at least we haven't found anybody [else] that was voting twice,’ Smith said. The only way to detect discrepancies is ‘it has to be called to our attention to look for it,’ Smith said.” [Brunswick Beacon, 3/17/10]