Funding for plaintiffs might have been solicited
Tina Emerson
Robbinsville – All told, the first voter challenge stemming from the Town of Lake Santeetlah’s 2021 municipal election cost $19,587.08.
Through an open-records request, The Graham Star obtained documentation that shows an alarmingly high price tag for a single challenge – against Tina Emerson – which was spearheaded by two residents of the second-smallest municipality in Graham County.
The challenges were filed by Town of Lake Santeetlah residents – and council members – Jim Hager and Diana Simon in the wake of a 3/5 upheaval during the 2021 election. Simon received the most votes of any candidate (22), while Hager won the fifth seat on a coin-flip tiebreaker after tying fellow incumbent Keith Predmore with 11 votes each.
Hager had served as the mayor, but the write-in elections of Tina Emerson, Connie Gross and Ralph Mitchell almost split the council 3-2 right off the bat. Gross was appointed mayor, while Emerson seized the reins of finance officer for Lake Santeetlah.
Dissatisfied with the results of the election, Hager and Simon quickly moved forward with filing voter challenges – but not without a few hiccups along the way. Eight separate challenges have been filed, with Tina and John Emerson the first on the docket. The six-member Hutsell family (Amelia, Dean, Kaylee, Linda, Olivia and Savannah) have also been challenged, but those hearings will not be held until late 2023, at the earliest – at which point the town will have already held another election.
Attorney’s fees for Asheville-based Bill Cannon – who represented the county – were $12,726.73 alone. Board fees were $2,250, while salaries for the board and its staff during the hearing were $1,371.
Other associated costs included advertising for the hearing in The Graham Star, renting the Graham County Community Building for both the July 8 preliminary hearing and Sept. 29 evidentiary hearing, and the necessity of hiring a court reporter for the nearly 11-hour Sept. 29 hearing.
Statute interpretation
One glaring takeaway from the process so far is that N.C. G.S. 163-57 needs to be reviewed – if not rewritten. Both of Tina and John Emerson’s challenges were set to be heard Sept. 28, but Tina’s hearing alone took around 10 ½ hours to get through.
Tina’s voter registration has changed enough over the years that Hager and Simon both felt they could build a compelling case for the local board of elections. From 2004-21, Tina’s registration changed frequently between Graham and Mecklenburg counties. Tina switched her registration to Graham County just five weeks before the 2021 election.
However, the 5-0 verdict handed down Sept. 28 by the Graham County Board of Elections solidified that as the statute currently reads, she was well within her rights to do so.
N.C. G.S. 163-57 says a voter simply has to state an “intention” to reside in a county in order to register to vote.
The beginning of the statute – the very crux of the debate – reads, “All election officials in determining the residence of a person offering to register or vote, shall be governed by the following rules, so far as they may apply: (1) That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which that person’s habitation is fixed, and to which, whenever that person is absent, that person has the intention of returning …”
Simon was first elected as a write-in to the Santeetlah council in 2019 and, even though she received the highest number of votes in her first re-election bid, she quickly noticed the unusually high voter challenge for the Town of Lake Santeetlah, which reportedly had just 29 residents during the 2020 census.
There were 67 write-in votes altogether (52.37 percent of the 128 votes cast) in the 2021 race. In 2019, just 75 ballots total were received. The percentage of write-in votes was the highest in the state. Simon and Hager began working to compile enough evidence to show a reasonable “burden of proof,” including an exhaustive, six-month surveillance of the Emersons’ Lake Santeetlah residence (their primary home is in Matthews, a Charlotte suburb). Simon and Hager hastily compiled a collage of photos when filing a quick appeal in late 2021, which was promptly dismissed due to insufficient material.
But between Nov. 11, 2021, and May 11, 2022, the two alternated taking photos of the Emersons’ Lake Santeetlah home, hoping to show how infrequently either John or Tina were at the residence.
Simon confirmed to the Graham County Board of Elections at its Oct. 10, 2022, meeting that an appeal has been filed, which will send the challenge to the Superior Court level.
Aiding the cause?
The true cost of the first challenge might never be properly calculated – only the fees associated with Graham County are public record. The amount of money Hager and Simon spent on their side of the case are private expenses.
The Graham Star has obtained copies of emails that circulated through much of the town, showing both solicited help with funding the challenges.
“For those of you who were on the Town Zoom Meeting today, you witnessed the beginning of the end of the Town of Lake Santeetlah,” reads a portion of a Dec. 9, 2021, email penned by Hager. “Diana Simon and I have employed the services of John Noor, a Litigation Attorney out of Asheville, to represent us in moving forward with legal challenges. John comes highly recommended as an expert in voting matters.
“We have 90 days from today to get this matter before the Graham County Superior Court. It will not be cheap. If you love this Town as much as Anne (Hager, Jim’s wife), Diana and I do, we need your financial help. All I am asking for at this point is to make a commitment of significant funds. John estimates it will cost up to $50,000 to be successful in Court. It could even cost more.”
Written just two weeks before the evidentiary hearing, a Sept. 14, 2022, email from Simon also hints at the need for financial assistance.
“I’ve been a busy girl – we have additional evidence to present,” a portion of Simon’s email reads. “Very optimistic that Jim and I will succeed with our challenges and that Tina will ultimately be found ineligible to hold elective office. If you would like to help with our legal expenses, please contact Jim Hager.”
Both Simon and Hager were contacted for comment on this report. Neither responded by 9 a.m. Tuesday.