State Auditor Appoints Angela Hawkins to Replace Bob Rucho on Elections Board

State Auditor Dave Boliek announced March 5 that he had appointed Angela Hawkins to the North Carolina State Board of Elections to fill the seat Bob Rucho vacated that morning, a move that immediately prompted a reshuffle on the Wake County elections board. Rucho, a Mecklenburg County dentist and former multiple-term state senator, informed Boliek of his resignation on the morning of March 5 after media reports said he had contributed to two sheriff’s campaigns.

Local and state reporting tied Rucho’s departure to those contributions, which some outlets characterized as a violation of state law; none of the reports in the public record cited any criminal charges, administrative sanctions, or official findings against Rucho. The announcements came only days after this year’s primaries as county and state election officials were still processing Tuesday’s results.

Boliek’s appointment power stems from a 2024 law that shifted authority to name State Board of Elections members from the governor to the state auditor; multiple outlets report the law is still under litigation and that the change helped produce Republican majorities on state and many county election boards. The law’s transfer of appointment authority removed that power from incoming Democratic Governor Josh Stein and gave it to Boliek, a Republican.

Boliek framed Hawkins’ selection as continuity of experience. “I’m thankful for Bob Rucho’s service on the State Board of Elections. He led on election integrity and helped make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in North Carolina’s elections,” Boliek said in his announcement. He added, “This office has high standards for its board members, and Angela Hawkins will continue the good work being done by the State Board. She brings valuable experience, having served as chair of the elections board of North Carolina’s largest county.”

Carolina Journal reported that Hawkins was sworn in Thursday afternoon. Hawkins had been serving as chair of the Wake County elections board and was appointed chairman of that board last year; the Carolina Journal also reported she was recommended to the state board on a list submitted by NCGOP chair Jason Simmons and that she has worked with the state auditor’s office to train newly appointed county election board chairs.

State Board member Siobhan O’Duffy Millen praised Hawkins’ experience at the swearing-in, saying, “I just was going to take a point of personal privilege and say how much I respect Angela… I’ve worked with her, seen her work for a decade. We’re not in the same party, but I think she knows an awful lot about elections. That’s so I think that will be a good fit.”

The state board simultaneously reconstituted the Wake County board: it appointed Keith Weatherly, a former Apex mayor and current Wake elections board member, as chairman of the Wake board, and named Donna Simpson Williams to fill the vacancy Hawkins left on the Wake board. NC Newsline and other outlets reported those Wake appointments alongside Boliek’s announcement.

The personnel changes arrive amid a narrow post-primary count in State Senate District 26, where an unofficial Tuesday tally showed Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page leading Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger by two votes with provisional and military ballots still outstanding. With the 2024 appointment law under litigation and no official enforcement action reported in the Rucho matter, Boliek’s appointment takes effect as county and state election officials continue finalizing close races and as the legal challenge to appointment rules proceeds.