Durham County Board of Elections is under new management.
Amid an overhaul of local elections boards across the state this week, Durham’s five-seat board of elections is now majority Republican.
State Auditor Dave Boliek promoted Republican David Boone to board chair, a position previously held by Democrat Dawn Baxton, who was reappointed to the board by the State Board of Elections Tuesday along with fellow incumbent and Democrat Pamela Oxendine. Republican Jim Weaver was also reappointed, and Natalie Beauchaine, who serves as second vice chair for the Durham Republican Party, was appointed to replace Donald Beskind, a Democrat.
Each member will serve a two-year term once they are sworn in on July 22.
County boards of elections are responsible for overseeing local election administration, including operating voting sites and maintaining voter registration logs. Each county board is composed of two Democrats and two Republicans who are recommended by the state party chairs and appointed by the State Board of Elections.
Until recently, the governor appointed the fifth board member—so recently the State Board of Elections website still says as much. But shortly after the 2024 elections concluded last November, Republicans in the state house passed Senate Bill 382, which stripped power over the state board away from incoming Democratic governor Josh Stein and gave it to Boliek, a Trump devotee with ties to staunch election deniers. The bill also included a myriad of provisions aimed at taking power away from the governor’s office and reallocating the responsibilities to positions more favorable to Republicans.
On May 1, Boliek officially assumed power over the state elections board, appointing a 3-2 Republican majority to serve in office. And on Tuesday, Boliek appointed Republican board chairs to all 100 counties in the state, giving the Republican party overwhelming power over how elections are conducted in North Carolina.
In Durham, Derek Bowens, who has served as director of elections since 2017, isn’t concerned about potential conflict within the board, even with the new political makeup.
“This board has worked collaboratively in the best interest of Durham County voters during my tenure with the organization, regardless of political composition,” Bowens said in an email to the INDY. “I fully expect that to continue and have full confidence in this board.”
The last time the Durham County Board of Elections was led by a Republican was in 2018 when Luke Farley was appointed to the position. Farley, who is now Commissioner of Labor, was an outspoken proponent of stripping election power from Governor Stein. Less than 10 percent of registered voters in Durham County are affiliated with the Republican Party.
In a news release from the Durham County Board of Elections, Boone said, “I am honored to serve the Durham community in this new capacity for the 2025-2027 term. I look forward to working with my colleagues to facilitate honest, fair, and accurate election administration in Durham County.”
Fair elections are an essential tenet of American democracy, at every level of government. In Durham, a democratic stronghold, election integrity at the local level is rarely an issue for voters. But the insurrection on January 6, 2021, and the failed attempt by Jefferson Griffin to discard 60,000 votes in his North Carolina state judicial race against Allison Riggs, have given voters more cause for concern.
“This [election integrity] is a charge for every county board of elections in North Carolina and is actually our internal motto,” Bowens says. “The new board chair, with whom I have had a tremendous relationship with since he began his tenure on the board in 2021 as a member, has maintained this perspective from day one. This has been a standard call for both Democrats and Republicans alike serving on this board.”
Davit Melikian, vice chair of the Durham Democratic Party, agrees with Bowens.
“David Boone has been somebody that’s worked well with our party,” Melikian says, “but there’s still somebody above him. Especially with the whole board of elections now being controlled by Republicans, we’re very cautious with everything.”
Even with Boone’s reputation as someone willing to work across the aisle, members of the Durham Democrats aren’t taking any chances when it comes to fortifying Durham’s election process.
“The Riggs situation really got us on our toes to expect the unexpected from the Republican Party,” Melikian says.
Requirements for voting in North Carolina are always changing, and now that Republicans have a supermajority over local boards of elections, the number of early voting days and polling locations could be up in the air. Despite the shift in power, Melikian says the Durham Democrats will continue to lean into its core functions—voter registration and generating voter turnout—and ensure everyone has the resources they need to vote.
“Somebody that was registered in 1999 or 2000 wasn’t required to give the same amount of information as is required now, which is one of the bases that Griffin was using,” Melikian said. “So that’s kind of our approach to it is being diligent and making sure that people are up to date with their voter registration, even if they are registered, just making sure that they have all the pieces to the puzzle. They have their proper IDs and everything like that.”
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