Note: Since William Stone  goes by “Bill,” we have referred to him as such below.

Bill Stone Sat On The 2024 Caldwell County Board Of Elections. [Caldwell County Board of Elections, accessed 6/17/24]

Bill Stone Was A Republican. [North Carolina State Board of Elections County Board of Elections Members List, updated 11/1/23]

STONE ALLEGEDLY BRUSHED ASIDE A COMPLAINT OF VOTER INTIMIDATION AT POLLING PLACES DURING EARLY VOTING

2016: The Caldwell County NAACP Called On Bill Stone To Resign After A Campaign Worker Allegedly Followed A Group Of African Americans Into An Early Voting Site, Accusing Him Of Voter Fraud. “A Republican member of the Caldwell County Board of Elections should resign because of his role in what can be seen as an instance of voter intimidation, local African American leaders said in a heated exchange with the board on Monday. But that Republican, Bill Stone, said the incident did not result from his actions and he did nothing wrong. Roger Patterson of the Caldwell County chapter of NAACP said he believes the incident, in which a white Republican campaign volunteer followed a group of African Americans into the downtown Lenoir early voting site in violation of election rules on Oct. 22, was more than just a misunderstanding and that there was an underlying issue of racial prejudice and intentional intimidation.” [Lenoir News-Topic, 11/1/16]

2018: Bill Stone Was Accused Of Brushing Aside A Complaint Of Voter Intimidation, Dismissing Election Concerns, And Refusing To Ask A Non-Voter To Move Their Car From A Voter-Only Space. “Three complaints filed against the chairman of the Caldwell County Board of Elections in the past week say he brushed aside a voter's complaint of intimidation, dismissed someone who expressed concern over campaigning at the polls and refused to ask a non-voter to move a car from a voter-only parking space. All of the complaints against Bill Stone, a Republican who has been on the board for two two-year terms, were sent to the North Carolina State Board of Elections and shown to Stone and other board members at a board meeting Tuesday, said Sandra Rich, the Caldwell County director of elections. In an interview Thursday with the News-Topic, Stone dismissed the complaints as a campaign tactic by Democrats and said they wouldn't result in anything.” [Lenoir News-Topic, 11/1/18]

• An Elections Office Employee Accused Bill Stone Of Saying Campaigners Could “Say Anything They Want As Long As They Don't Put Their Hands On Them” When She Said A Voter Had Complained About Overly Aggressive Campaigning Outside A Polling Location. “A complaint dated Oct. 24 that was filed by Lorene Reece, who works at the Caldwell County elections office during voting periods every year, alleges that she was telling Rich that a voter had complained about overly aggressive campaigning outside the one-stop voting location in Lenoir when Stone, who was nearby, said the voter's complaint would ‘not go anywhere.’ He said campaigners could ‘say anything they want as long as they don't put their hands on them,’ the complaint said. In his interview, Stone said Reece asked her what he took as a hypothetical question about the incident, to which he gave his opinion that the voter could file a complaint but he didn't think that it would go anywhere. ‘‘I have a right to have an opinion,’ he said. Reece said in an interview that Stone's reaction toward the complaint was no surprise because she had seen him be dismissive before, so she decided to file a complaint because the issue directly affected voters. ‘It's going on at a time when there are people here that are trying to vote,’ Reece said. ‘They're exposed to his attitude. ... His attitude is not becoming of someone in his station and his position.’ Reece said she hopes that because of her complaints and others, Stone's ‘attitude will change and he'll respect people more and not feel he's above the rules and regulations.’” [Lenoir News-Topic, 11/1/18]

STONE WAS ACCUSED OF MAKING THREATENING REMARKS OUTSIDE A VOTING SITE

Robert Reece Accused Bill Stone Of Pointing And Laughing At Him Alongside A Campaigner After Reece Informed The Campaigner He Needed To Move Behind The Barricades. “The second complaint came from Lorene Reece's husband, Robert Reece, who said Stone ‘pointed and laughed’ at him with one of the campaigners outside the voting site after Robert Reece told the campaigner he should be behind the barricades. Robert Reece said Stone also made threatening remarks to him.” [Lenoir News-Topic, 11/1/18]

Robert Reece Accused Bill Stone Of Making Threatening Remarks To Him. “The second complaint came from Lorene Reece's husband, Robert Reece, who said Stone ‘pointed and laughed’ at him with one of the campaigners outside the voting site after Robert Reece told the campaigner he should be behind the barricades. Robert Reece said Stone also made threatening remarks to him.”  [Lenoir News-Topic, 11/1/18]