A campaign finance group wants an investigation over the Republican Governors Association.

Democracy North Carolina filed a complaint today with the State Board of Elections arguing that the method the national GOP group is using to raise money is unlawful.

According to campaign finance reports, the RGA's North Carolina 2008 Political Action Committee has raised nearly $390,000 to boost the campaign of Republican nominee Pat McCrory.

Democracy North Carolina head Bob Hall says the association raised money from out-of-state donors who aren't being told the money is going to North Carolina. He argues that state law doesn't allow that.

"The PAC is violating the prohibition against accepting contributions made "in the name of another," as well as laws regarding the proper disclosure of the true source of its money," he argues in the letter. "North Carolina law requires a clear and close nexus between the donor and the recipient."

Hall also says that he does not believe the RGA PAC is the only one, and an investigation would help clarify the law.

Elections Director Gary Bartlett said that the board will investigate the complaint.

North Carolina's top elections official expressed frustration Monday at the pace of an ongoing review by State Auditor Les Merritt's office.

Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said the auditor's examination of the state's voter rolls has become a distraction.

Merritt's office began its review in January 2007. It has not released any results, David Ingram reports.

"They're continually holding it open so they can try to find something. They need to get their work done so we can have an election," Bartlett said. "We have done everything they have asked us to do."

State lawmakers chided Merritt, a Republican, a year ago for using preliminary results to delay a bill related to voter registration.

Bartlett, a Democratic appointee, said Monday that he expected a conclusion to the review soon after that legislative hearing.

"The auditor came to me, shook my hand and asked that we work together to come to a completion on this. I gave him my word that we would work together in any way possible," Bartlett said. "Since then, it has been one-sided."

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A Raleigh Realtor has complained to the State Board of Elections.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Raleigh Realtor Becky Harper complains about the N.C. Association of Realtors' use of required dues to oppose the transfer tax.

She notes that she is required to be a member of the association to have access to the Multiple Listing Service, which lists real estate for sale.

"I do not believe that it is right that my required fees are used to support direct political action for or against ballot initiatives," she writes.

She also notes that the dues are deductible as a business expense, but the use of them for political purposes may "jeopardize" that deduction.

Harper attached an e-mail and a letter from the association about the use of dues.

Update: Elections Director Gary Bartlett said they will look into the complaint.

"We plan to do due diligence on it," he said.  

Voter turnout today could reach a record low with only one statewide Democratic runoff on the ballot.

Gary Bartlett, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said he would not be surprised if today's turnout fell below the 2.5 percent recorded in a Republican primary runoff for labor commissioner in 2000, Jane Ruffin reports.

The statewide runoff today pits Mary Fant Donnan, a program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, against John C. Brooks, a former labor commissioner who was defeated in 1992. The winner will face incumbent Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry in November.

"It seems that probably the largest voting bloc out there today will be the election officials themselves," Bartlett said. "Certainly I would be very disappointed if they did not exercise their franchise."

Bartlett said the heaviest voting appeared to be in McDowell County, which is holding a mixed beverage referendum, and Yancey County, which has a hot school board contest.

What will turnout be like in North Carolina's May 6 primary?

That depends in large part on how many unaffiliated voters show up at the polls.

Gary Bartlett, director of the State Board of Elections, said that he expects turnout among Democratic voters to be as high as 50 percent, but Republican turnout to be between 25 and 30 percent based on how absentee and one-stop voting has gone so far.

But he has no idea what turnout will be like among unaffiliated voters, who make up about one-fifth of the electorate.

Turnout has gone steadily down in the primaries during presidential election years over the past 20 years, in part because of the reduced importance of North Carolina in the primary calendar.

In 1988, when North Carolina was part of a Super Tuesday of Southern states, it was 31 percent.

In 1992, it was 30 percent; in 1996, 22 percent; in 2000, 18 percent; and in 2004, 16 percent.

If unaffiliated voters turn out in droves, the overall turnout could be as high as 40 percent this year, rivaling the general election turnout in a non-presidential year.

Still, Bartlett warns that as many as a third of voters could check the boxes for president and governor and then leave the voting booth.

Filing ends at noon on Friday.

In years past, some candidates waited until the last minute to turn their paperwork into the State Board of Elections in order to gain the element of surprise on their opponents.

Executive Director Gary Bartlett says that former Congressional candidate Vernon Robinson was famous for last-minute filing, but his favorite story involves four District Court judges from Cumberland County who all showed up in person on the last day of filing.

Each of the four was determined to file for a Superior Court post if any of the others did, Bartlett recalls. But none of them would make the first move. As the minutes ticked towards noon, they sat in the lobby in a standoff until finally one stood up.

With blogs and e-mail keeping political activists in touch, Bartlett said it's increasingly hard to keep a lid on a candidacy until filing day.

"Now that we're in the open information age, the surprise element has pretty much gone out the window," he said. 

Tim Boyum notes that more young voters are registering.

In a post on his Political Connections blog, the News 14 Carolina reporter writes that 64,413 people registered to vote from Jan. 1 to Feb. 11, according to the State Board of Elections. Of that, 25,811 were Democrats, 20,447 were unaffiliated and 18,125 were Republicans.

Elections Director Gary Bartlett says that at least 60% of those are under 40 years old and a huge chunk are in the 18-30 range.

Bartlett says the state has never seen young people represent the largest chunk of new voters. Usually it is the opposite.

Based on his visits to college campuses, Boyum says he thinks the new voters are registering for the presidential election. 

The State Board of Elections has waived Rep. Thomas Wright's fine.

The Wilmington Democrat was fined $500 last year for failing to file his 2007 mid-year campaign finance report, Mark Johnson reports. (The fine is $50 per day, not to exceed $500.)

Earlier this month, the board sent Wright a letter saying the fee would be waived as long as does not get another waiver for a fine in 2008. If he does, the waived penalty will be added to the new one.

Gary Bartlett, executive director of the board of elections, said that the fine was a moot point now that Wright's campaign committee had been shut down.

"We have closed down Rep. Wright's campaign committee and the case has been referred to the district attorney for prosecution," he said. "It's no longer in our jurisdiction." 

The chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties will choose which presidential candidates appear on the primary ballot in May.

Under a change in state law approved last session, Democratic chairman Jerry Meek and Republican chairwoman Linda Daves will tell the State Board of Elections by Feb. 5 which candidates they want to be on the ballot.

Previously, the board recognized all candidates of major political parties who qualified to receive federal campaign financing. But executive director Gary Bartlett said that was no longer a viable option.

"What started happening in the last presidential election is that candidates are forgoing the public funding, so there needed to be a change," he said.

A candidate could still petition to get on the ballot. Under state law, candidates may submit the signatures of 10,000 registered voters from their party to the state board, but they will first need to get the names verified by the county boards where those voters reside.

The petition would be due March 3, roughly a month after the party chairs submit their lists.

Still, Bartlett said that could be a tight timeline for some candidates.

"For a sophisticated campaign, you would usually need about three to five weeks to do something like that," he said.

Former state House co-speaker Richard Morgan is not the only candidate to show an above-market interest rate for loans he made to his campaign.

Election reports show that former state Rep. Wayne Goodwin, a Richmond County Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for labor commissioner in 2004, loaned his campaign roughly $45,000 at a 10 percent interest rate, reports Dan Kane. Goodwin's wife, Democratic Rep. Melanie Goodwin, also loaned roughly $22,000 to the campaign at the same rate.

But unlike Morgan, Wayne Goodwin said he and his wife never intended to collect the interest on the loans, which remain outstanding.

"I will not be taking any interest," Goodwin said. "That was just filling out a blank (on the campaign report)."

Subsequent election reports show that Goodwin has made partial reimbursements to himself for the loan of $2,750, all of which were deducted from the principal. He expects that he and his wife will likely not be reimbursed for the full amount of their loans.

"I would think most people who make loans to their campaigns probably never pay it back," said Goodwin, now an assistant insurance commissioner for the state. "They write it off, and I think that's ultimately what will happen with me."

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