Anson County Elections Director Neva Helms resigned Tuesday after about three months on the job, citing a laundry list of issues including broken salary and training promises, mistreatment, and ballot security concerns.

Background

Helms was hired in April after the previous director, Sherry Melton, was suspended with pay due to allegations of serious violations of election law. Helms was promised a salary of $71,000, but the county commissioners rejected this figure and instead offered her $43,000, which was later increased to $63,000.

Helms stated that she was alone in the office with no deputy director or staff to help, and was forced to work through lunches without overtime. She also claimed that she was excluded from some communications and did not receive the training she was promised.

Ballot Security Concerns

During her time as director, Helms noticed that an Anson County IT employee seemingly had access to the ballot room, which is supposed to be highly secure. She expressed concerns about the potential for ballot tampering and the lack of proper protocols in place.

The State Board of Elections has investigators onsite looking into Helms’ allegations, and the county plans to fill a deputy director and elections director position.

Original reporting: Carolina Public Press — read the source article.