But DeLancy said if dead people once voted in Chicago, they can do so in North Carolina. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe all roll our eyes and wink about it, but if that’s true, why not here? It’s like some kind of Jedi mind trick: they say there is no voter fraud in North Carolina. And I’m not drinking that Kool-Aid. I’m just like ‘no, I think there is’ and the only proof they have is that no one has been prosecuted. So my comeback to that is: the one party that has been in control of the electoral process for 100 years assures us there is nothing wrong with the system, then what’s wrong with us checking?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Who They Are <\/strong> It’s a mission that caught DeLancy’s eye after the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The ensuing debacle in Florida left DeLancy feeling uneasy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe discussion after that Bush v. Gore race – and that churning in my stomach I have had after every election after that,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought, ‘This is where I’m going.’\u201d The former Halifax County ROTC teacher was about to retire from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel when he read about a Texas group called True the Vote<\/a>.<\/p>\n He attended its training session and learned about members’ efforts to clean voter rolls. In a list of 3,800 voters, he said they found 600 with suspicious addresses \u2013 vacant lots, businesses and post office boxes. <\/p>\n DeLancy returned to North Carolina in 2011 and decided to try something similar. <\/p>\n Although loosely based on True the Vote, DeLancy’s Voter Integrity Project is not affiliated with any national organization. <\/p>\n So far, he’s working with a small group of volunteers, who hope to spread the effort statewide. <\/p>\n It’s set up as a for-profit corporation, which he said was to protect the information of any future donors. <\/p>\n \u201cI don’t have any yet, but when I do, it protects them from being randomly attacked \u2026 for supporting organization some may not like \u2013 something ‘not mainstream,’\u201d he told the Record. <\/p>\n DeLancy said the group itself is non-partisan; state voter registration records list him as a registered independent. <\/p>\n \u201cI really want this not to be a partisan issue,\u201d he said. \u201cI view it as an issue that cuts to the core of our Constitution. If we lose control over the ballot box \u2026 we’re going to wake up to being a … Venezuelan-type dictatorship eventually.\u201d <\/p>\n That non-partisan approach is exactly why Janice Wilson volunteered to help. She’s a member of the Wake County Republican Party \u2013 its liaison to the Board of Elections, in fact \u2013 but called DeLancy’s goals her \u201cgrail.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt was just exactly what I knew we needed here in Wake County,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause even though the Wake County Board of Elections is extremely diligent in trying to keep things on the up and up, their first priority is the voter, and that means they have to allow everybody to vote. We knew we had to step in somewhere.\u201d <\/p>\n An Attack<\/strong> \u201cWe stripped away political party, gender, race, information like that we didn’t need,\u201d he said. \u201cThe implication was you’re targeting people of color. No, we just want the chips to fall where the chips fall.\u201d <\/p>\n Some have also suggested he’s out to attack the Board of Elections members and staff, his challenges a critique on their methods or an implication that that they’re not doing their job. Wake Board of Elections Chair Aida Doss Havel<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Wake Board of Elections Chair Aida Doss Havel commented on DeLancy’s May 30 blog post to say she does not appreciate \u201cgotcha\u201d tactics. <\/p>\n Havel’s comment also responded to DeLancy’s claim that she scolded them during a previous hearing. <\/p>\n \u201cActually, I did not ‘scold you to make the quiet phone call next time,’\u201d she wrote. \u201cWhat I said was, if you identify a problem, or what you perceive to be as problem, come to us and tell us about it as an adult. There is no need for covert, ‘gotcha’ type of tactics, and yes, those types of actions do undermine confidence in the system. If, instead, you walk in the front door and say, ‘I\u2019ve identified something that may be a problem. Am I looking at it correctly? If so, how can we fix it?’ you not only help us and help the system, but you give yourself more credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe conservative-leaning Voter Integrity Project-North Carolina describes itself as a \u201cnon-partisan, volunteer organization that works for \u201cfree and fair elections.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/images1.jpg\" "\\"voter")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWhat: <\/strong>For-profit corporation, established in June 2012
\nPresident:<\/strong> Jay DeLancy
\nMission:<\/strong> \u201cFree and fair elections\u201d\n<\/div>\n
\nStepping in can mean stepping on a few toes. Some have said challenging voters who claim not to be U.S. citizens is an attack on minorities, or those with foreign-sounding names. But DeLancy said when conducting the research, he did not look at names. He said those who imply he’s targeting people are just \u201cdistracting from the real issue.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/BoardMemberAida.jpg\" "\\"wake")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/images-2.jpg\" "\\"Jay")