A local organizer for the Harris-Walz Campaign reportedly asked teachers in Gaston County Public Schools to recruit kids to work on the campaign, and some accepted. Such action, however, would be illegal in North Carolina. Charlotte radio station WBT reported the story Thursday.
G.S. 126-13 Article 5 states that no State employee subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act or temporary State employee shall take any active part in managing a campaign, or campaign for political office or otherwise engage in political activity while on duty or within any period of time during which he is expected to perform services for which he receives compensation from the State.
According to WBT, the public school teachers also used official email to send out requests, which would also be illegal. Gaston County schools reportedly took immediate action and blocked all the emails that hadn’t yet been opened, and have also produced an educational video that teachers will have to watch.
BREAKING : I reported Wednesday that an NC Democrat operative working for 2024 Victory – an organization for Harris-Walz & & ties to the NC Dem Party – reached out to more than 400 Gaston County high school teachers & workers asking them to do something illegal: have them ask… pic.twitter.com/QDkVrRHI09
— Brett Jensen WBT News (@Brett_Jensen) August 30, 2024
Carolina Journal contacted the school for comment on Thursday but did not hear back before this article was published.
CJ did hear back, however, from Gaston County GOP Chairman Robert King, who said in an emailed statement that the party was “absolutely incensed to learn of Kamala Harris’ campaign’s efforts to access the public school system, its employees, and students for the benefit of their campaign.
“The method utilized placed employees of the school system in a position to potentially break the law, yet the campaign appears to either not care or be ignorant of the law,” he said. “Either way, it reflects their apparent lack of concern for operating within the bounds of the law and of decency regarding their methods.”
King said it also appears that the campaign operative involved in the situation has stated that this is a concerted effort on their part on a state-wide and nationwide scale.
WBT contacted the regional organizer for the Harris-Walz Campaign, who told them that Democrats nationwide commonly reach out to school systems and offer students internships.
“It seems to me that they are desperate because their record is abysmal, our country is in miserable economic condition with painful inflation, our border is not secure, and they appear to have no real policy positions which they are comfortable conveying to the American people,” King said in the emailed statement. “Whatever the case, they need to stop attempting to groom our children for their radical left-wing agenda.”
As of Friday, most polls show former President Donald Trump with a slight lead over Harris in North Carolina.