It appears that the No Kings marches a couple of weekends ago weren’t just about letting the world know that America has no kings. Instead, there’s a strong possibility that, at least in Wilmington, North Carolina, they were also a place for wheeling, dealing, and buying votes. Yes, buying votes.

The North Carolina GOP received evidence that people at the local No Kings rally were promising march attendees that they would receive $100 if they cast their votes for specific Democrat members of the Wilmington City Council.

As of now, all names are redacted, so we don’t know who was allegedly involved in the scheme. Even without the names, though, what you see is pretty disturbing:

The initial text message is always the same:

Hey, [redacted]. Just following up on our conversation from the No Kings Protest.

Just a heads up that the Wilmington City Council is coming up soon. Three Democratic candidates on the ballot are [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted]. You can read about all the candidates and find voting details on the New Hanover County Board of elections site: https://elections.nhcgov.com

Each candidate will pay you 100 dollars for your votes.

In one case, the person receiving the message responded:

How do I get paid?

I can’t afford my electric bill. How long till I get the money after I vote? Can you do direct deposit or does it get mailed?

(Yet, somehow, they always have money for phones. I guess it’s an Obama phone.)

The original sender provided this response:

After you vote, one of our team members will meet you in her car near your polling place and pay you cash money.

We can arrange transportation if needed.

The bribery cash-for-vote scam (a felony) is so obvious that my first thought was that the text messages must be faked. However, Matt Van Swol updated his tweet to include a message from the North Carolina GOP:

NCGOP Refers Alleged New Hanover County Cash-For Votes Scheme to State Board of Elections

The North Carolina Republican Party has referred an alleged cash-for-votes scheme to the N.C. State Board of Elections for further investigation.

Over the last 72 hours, the NCGOP has been made aware of this alleged scheme appearing to monetarily solicit votes for three Democratic candidates for Wilmington City Council.

A registered voter in New Hanover County has alleged they had received text messages indicating they would be compensated by three Democratic City Council Candidates in exchange for their vote. The text messages in question allege this voter was offered $100 and arrangements would be made to meet the voter at a polling site subsequent to casting their ballot.

After reviewing the information provided to us, we have asked the N.C. State Board of Elections to investigate.

"This is troubling. An allegation of paying a voter and attempting to buy votes in an election is an affront to our shared values. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the integrity of honest elections and will continue to work diligently to keep North Carolina elections fair, free, honest, and transparent," said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons.

Assuming these allegations are true, they tell a story: As people become increasingly disenchanted with Democrat policies, which leave ruin wherever they are imposed, expect more of this. For Democrats, if they can’t win by fair means, the only ones left are foul.

Image created using AI.