Godwin elections board dismisses protest alleging town clerk texted voters

The Godwin Board of Elections dismissed a protest filed by candidate Dennis C. Smith Sr., concluding there was not substantial evidence that the town clerk’s actions on Nov. 4, 2025 swayed the outcome of the Town of Godwin commissioners race.

At the evidentiary hearing, Smith said witnesses had reported that town clerk Jacqueline “Jackie” Cooper texted voters during the election to endorse incumbents. Smith summarized his case in closing, saying the clerk “admitted to doing the text at work at approximately 10:20 in the morning when she got there.”

Witnesses who testified under oath included Mayor Willie Burnett, who described overhearing a phone exchange; Shirley Burnett, who said the clerk called a pro tem’s household while standing in the town hall and that the clerk’s aim was “to keep the same people on the board;” and Joseph Smith (mayor pro tem), who said he told his sister she could vote for anyone and later confirmed the clerk had texted voters. Dr. Ira Wells and candidate George Cooper Jr. testified they saw or were shown the text after the election.

Jacqueline Cooper, the town clerk and a subpoenaed witness, acknowledged sending campaign‑related text messages from her personal phone while at work during a break. In her testimony she said, “I got up, went into the bathroom, and that's when I made the text,” and confirmed she sent the message to Anne (Phillips) and to Curtis. She told the board she used her personal phone and that the messages were sent during a break at the town hall.

Chair Linda DeBourad framed the board’s legal question by citing the statute referred to in the hearing (transcribed as “NCGS 168‑169”), saying the board needed to determine whether a municipal employee, while on duty at the town hall during voting, unlawfully used position or influence to affect the election, whether voters relied on that influence to change their votes, and — if so — whether the number of influenced voters could cast doubt on the result. The chair noted the vote margin between Smith and the fourth‑place finisher was five votes and observed that three affected votes could have altered that ordering.

After deliberation, Member Brenda Eldridge moved that there was not substantial evidence of an elections‑law violation or misconduct adequate to conclude the election results were swayed and that the protest be dismissed. The board voted unanimously to adopt the motion; the chair directed that the record show a unanimous vote and announced the case dismissed.

The board then moved to adjourn; the hearing concluded with adjournment announced at 10:53 a.m.

The board’s order dismissing the protest rests on its finding, based on testimony and the evidence presented at this hearing, that while the clerk acknowledged sending some texts from her personal phone during a break at town hall, the board did not hear persuasive evidence that voters relied on the clerk’s communications in a way that changed votes or altered the final outcome.