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"We have not been given any reason why ICE wants this information and, frankly, I can not think of any reason for that," added Penry, visibly irritated. "But presumably, the US Attorney or ICE has reasons to be able to explain a little bit later."
But in a letter made public later, Mr. Higdon stated that he was "confident in the correctness of the subpoenas" and reminded the commission that he was prohibited from destroying the records requested before that the fate of the assignments be decided. .
"We have no intention of destroying the documents," said Penry, "and we have no intention of putting our servers on a plane to Ecuador or anywhere else."
The election office, called by telephone conference, ordered the Attorney General of North Carolina to ask a federal judge to set aside the subpoena.
Similar summonses were sent to the 44 counties in the eastern district of the state, demanding voting records, including actual ballots, dating back to 2013.
The decision on Friday morning ended a week of private scrambling and public outrage over the subpoenas that landed in state and county electoral offices preparing for a two-month election. sentence. State election officials first heard about the subpoenas when a fax from the US Attorney's Office arrived just before the start of the Labor Day weekend.
The Department of Justice, Penry said, was looking for documents that "would reveal very confidential information about voters, including what their ballots would look like." He added that state law prohibited their release without a court order.
Joshua Malcolm, vice chairman of the board of directors, said state officials were ready to help any appropriate investigation into illegal activities. But the electoral council would not "sit back and consent to an agency trying to obtain documents and documents that violate the principles of the federal government's high bid," he said.
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