A day after issuing a ruling that the North Carolina State Board of Elections violated its own rules and must conduct a new hearing into local elections board members, an administrative law judge issued a new order striking her own ruling.
“The Undersigned, sua sponte, ORDERS that the Final Decision on Summary Judgment in this matter be stricken nunc pro tunc as of February 12, 2026 and immediately removed from the docket,” ALJ Linda Nelson wrote in an order Friday.
“Sua sponte” means Nelson made the decision on her own without a request from any party in a legal dispute. “Nunc pro tunc” means Friday’s decision is backdated to take effect Thursday.
Friday’s order reverses a legal victory for Steve Holland of Weaverville and Michael Frazier of Salisbury, who had filed a complaint against the elections board. Holland and Frazier alleged that seven Wake and Rowan county board of elections members failed to follow a state board directive requiring the removal of early votes cast by individuals who died before Election Day, Nov. 8, 2024.
Both Frazier and Holland requested hearings on Nov. 21 and Dec. 4, 2024, on whether certain county election board commissioners breached their duties under Chapter 163 of the North Carolina General Statutes or participated “in irregularities, incapacity or incompetency to discharge the duties of office.”
Numbered Memorandum 2022-05, as revised Dec. 15, 2023, directs county election boards to remove ballots cast by voters who voted early in person or by absentee ballot and died before the day of the election.
Numbered memoranda are directives of the state board, including the Resolution on State Board Delegation of Authority to Issue Directives to County Boards, adopted by the State Board on Nov. 28, 2023.
The state board voted 3–2 along party lines in January 2025 not to hold one. At that time, the board included Democratic members Alan Hirsch, Jeff Carmon, and Siobhan Millen; and Republican members Stacey “Four” Eggers and Kevin Lewis.
The present board, named in May by State Auditor Dave Boliek, includes Carmon, Millen, and Eggers, along with Francis De Luca and Robert Rucho.
Holland and Frazier subsequently filed a contested case petition with the Office of Administrative Hearings, challenging what they described as an unlawful decision.
Nelson concluded in her 14-page opinion Thursday that the state board “erred as a matter of law in determining that the Request[s] for Hearing did not establish a prima facie case,” and ordered the board to hold hearings to determine whether Wake County Board Members Gerry Cohen and Erica Porter, and Rowan County Board Members Catrelia Hunter and Kenneth Stutts, should be removed from office since they allegedly improperly voted not to remove challenged ballots cast by voters who voted early in person or by absentee ballot and died before Election Day, resulting in these votes being counted.
A prima facie case is established where facts are alleged that, if true, support each element of the charged offense.
State law requires separate hearings in each affected county. Wake County Board Member Greg Flynn and Rowan County Board Members John Hudson and Loutricia Cain — whose terms expired in June 2024 — were also subjects of the complaints. The hearings are expected to address the alleged violations involving those members as well.
“Yesterday’s decision sends a clear message to the State Board that it must follow its own rules,” Holland said in a press release Thursday, before the new order striking Nelson’s ruling. “With the changes in the Board’s composition last June, I’m optimistic they’ll now do the right thing and promptly schedule the hearings rather than pursue an appeal. It’s vital that the State Board restore public confidence in its processes. They must also compel County Boards to observe the requirements of election law – or face the consequences.”
Holland told Caroiina Journal Friday night that he was blindsided by the judge’s reversal on Friday.
“I was pretty surprised,” he said. “I really have no idea what’s going on, but I’d be interested in knowing what precedent there is for this kind of action. It seems very strange that it was a 14-page opinion. It was pretty obvious to me that it was a well thought out opinion, and she did a whole lot of analysis about state cases, so to have an about-face on that and then pull it back with no explanation is really disconcerting.”
The press release stated that before filing their case, Holland and Frazier made multiple attempts to resolve the issue informally, but the state board failed to engage in required settlement discussions.
“As Board Member Eggers stated when the State Board considered this matter last year, it’s an equal protection issue,” Holland told CJ in an earlier emailed statement. “Therefore, the State Board should not sweep this under the rug; it needs a full hearing.”
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, representing the state board, sought to dismiss the case last summer on procedural grounds. Judge Nelson rejected all three dismissal arguments, allowing the case to proceed. Holland and Frazier represented themselves pro se.
“This outcome reaffirms that the State Board is accountable under the law, just like the voters they serve,” Frazier said in the release. “Rules must be applied consistently and transparently to preserve the integrity of North Carolina’s election system, and the State Board should set an example for counties.”
The press release states that in a similar case in 2023, the state board removed two Surry County election board members for violating their oath of office after they refused to certify their local elections. The board found that the actions of the two county board members not to certify recent elections and statements made by them violated their duties as county board members to comply with laws as they exist.
Jason Tyson, spokesman for the NCSBE, told Carolina Journal that the board’s attorneys are currently reviewing the ruling and deciding their next steps.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.