North Carolina GOP election officials resign in 'protest' -- one day after agreeing to mail-in voting deal

Two Republican members of North Carolina's State Board of Elections on Wednesday abruptly resigned in what they claimed was in protest over being "misled" by Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein over a deal they reached on mail-in ballots.

CNN reports that Republicans Ken Raymond and David Black resigned just one day after the board came to a unanimous agreement about rules for accepting mail-in ballots.

According to CNN, the settlement reached by the board "would allow voters to fix absentee ballots with missing information" and would also allow "ballots postmarked on Election Day to be received six days later."

Even though the board unanimously agreed to the deal just one day earlier, the North Carolina Republican Party said that it "guts the absentee witness requirement, extends the acceptance of all absentee ballots almost a week past the statutory deadline and weakens protections against ballot harvesting."

Stein, meanwhile, accused the two resigning Republicans of engaging in "political theater."

"The proposed consent order is a negotiated compromise response to the greatest public health crisis in 100 years, the USPS slowing of mail delivery, and a federal court order mandating a cure process for mail in ballot errors," Stein said. "I am committed to ensuring that all eligible voters in North Carolina are confident in the knowledge that they can vote easily and safely by mail or in person — and that the candidate who wins the most votes will prevail."