June 29, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT North Carolina county officials drawing up their early voting plans for this fall’s midterm elections are contending with a new power player this year: the state auditor. In the lame-duck period after the 2024 election, Republican legislators voted to strip incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of his authority over the State Board of Elections and give it to the incoming state auditor, Dave Boliek, who had flipped the office for Republicans that year.