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Karen Brinson Bell Reappointed As State Elections Chief

Karen Brinson Bell. Image courtesy NC Board of Elections

The State Board of Elections has reappointed Karen Brinson Bell to a two-year term as the top state elections official. 

Brinson Bell has served as the Board's executive director since June of 2019.  

As the chief elections official, she manages the state's 100 county boards of elections, oversees campaign finance compliance, and ensures accessibility and security at the polls.

Kellie Harris Hopkins is the Beaufort County elections director. Hopkins released a statement praising Brinson Bell's commitment to open communication, calling her a “fierce advocate for county boards of elections.”

Brinson Bell's tenure as executive director has not been without controversy.  Some lawmakers questioned a decision to extend the timeline for returning absentee ballots during the 2020 election, saying it was tantamount to changing state law. Brinson Bell responded that the board was within its legal powers to implement new absentee ballot rules.

In a news release following her reappointment, Brinson Bell said she recognizes the “privilege and responsibility” of ensuring the right to vote.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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