(9/18/2020) — As reported in the Raleigh News and Observer, nonpartisan voting rights nonprofit Democracy North Carolina and several other North Carolina-based organizations were targeted this summer for an attempted infiltration. Democracy North Carolina discovered the effort when it received a donation from someone purporting to support the organization’s work and learned that the donation was connected to an out-of-state LLC whose registered agent is a political consultant. Once identified, the organization ceased contact with the consultant and referred the matter to local authorities for investigation.
In response to Friday’s report on the incident, Democracy North Carolina Executive Director Tomas Lopez released the following statement:
“A new News and Observer article details attempts by bad actors to run a fake donor “sting operation” against Democracy North Carolina and other organizations, similar to efforts happening in other states. As this reporting shows, Democracy North Carolina immediately ended contact with an individual operative posing as a donor and referred the matter to authorities when we learned the donations’ true source: an out-of-state LLC whose agent is a Georgia political consultant. By all accounts, this failed effort appears to be an attempt to undermine public confidence in our elections and sow mistrust in lawful work by organizations helping voters, including voters of color, exercise their right to vote. We at Democracy North Carolina stand by our efforts to make sure that every eligible North Carolinian has access to the ballot and has that ballot count— and we stand with all other organizations targeted that are doing the same.”