Sampson County’s Board of Elections director has resigned.
Ashley Pate Tew reportedly stepped down on Wednesday, leaving the elections director post after five and a half years. She began as director on Feb. 17, 2014, having previously worked in a part-time capacity for elections, starting in September 2013.
Assistant county manager Susan Holder informed The Sampson Independent on Thursday of Tew’s resignation. A message left for Tew was not immediately returned and Holder said the process for finding the next elections director was not established as of yet.
On Monday, Tew sent out an email noting that the Sampson County Board of Elections was scheduled to meet again next Thursday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. in Elections Office board room to appoint election officials for the upcoming term. It was not immediately known whether the board would call a meeting prior to that one, or discuss the vacancy at the previously-designated time.
Tew’s resignation comes less than a week after Board of Elections chairman Horace Bass called a meeting of the five-member Sampson Board of Elections on Aug. 15. The board convened in the Elections Office board room that morning, approving minutes from a previous meeting before going into closed session to discuss personnel.
Board members held the closed session in another building — the county administration building across the parking lot — for about an hour before returning to the Elections Office and taking no action.
Just earlier this year, Tew became a certified elections director through the N.C. State Board of Elections (NCSBE). At that time, she spoke of her goal to ensure a fair elections process.
“It has been an honor to serve our county in the election process, and it is my number one goal to ensure that all of our elections are completed with the upmost fairness and accuracy,” Tew stated at the time. “I hope to continue to serve our county, elected officials, candidates, and citizens with a positive light, ensuring election integrity and promoting a welcoming environment in regards to elections.”
For years, the Sampson County Board of Elections was a three-member body. In early 2018, it grew to four members, split at two Republicans and two Democrats. In March 2019, the first five-member Sampson Board of Elections was sworn in, with Democrat newcomer Emily DeVane taking her seat on the board. She joined fellow Democrats Horace Bass and G.H. Wilson, along with Republicans Danny Jackson and Quincy Edgerton.
Bass, the longest-tenured member of the board with service dating back to 2011, was appointed chairman by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Early voting for Sampson’s municipal election begins in less than two months leading up to Nov. 5’s Election Day.