The former North Carolina elections director who was ousted this week after a politically motivated move by Republicans said Friday she hopes the new leadership will approach elections in a nonpartisan way and called for an end to verbal attacks against those who oversee the voting process.

North Carolina's elections board has ousted the agency’s executive director after Republicans gained control.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections’ top administrator wants a powerful legislator to retract a comment that he made suggesting this month’s results were being manipulated.

North Carolina elections officials say that more than 4.2 million voters cast ballots at early in-person voting sites, with turnout in western counties hit by Hurricane Helene outpacing the rest of the state.

Early in-person voting has started in the presidential battleground state of North Carolina.

North Carolina election officials say they will do everything in their power to ensure that voters in the crucial presidential swing state will be able to cast their ballots despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene only about a month before the November election.

Republicans who control the North Carolina legislature with veto-proof majorities are close to wresting supervision of elections from the governor and the governor’s party — almost always the Democrats for over a century.

(CNN) - Hurricane Dorian battered the North Carolina coast last week, bringing heavy rain, high winds and destructive tornadoes. The storm threatened turnout in two special elections taking place on Tuesday, but state election officials have been working to ensure that voters can reach the polls. "Voting will take place despite the challenges the hurricane presented," Karen Brinson Bell, the North Carolina State Board of Elections executive director, said in a video released Monday. Additionally, election officials extended the date by which absentee ballots can be received by 3rd Congressional District counties, as long as the ballots were postmarked by Tuesday. After the North Carolina election board voted to re-run the race, Harris took himself out of the running, leaving Republican voters to nominate Bishop.