One of the most powerful Republican politicians in North Carolina is spreading false claims about election fraud and needs to publicly retract his statements before his supporters resort to violence, the state's top elections official said Thursday.

“When you tell your fellow citizens that an election is being conducted fraudulently, they listen,” Karen Brinson Bell, who leads the State Board of Elections, wrote in a letter to Senate leader Phil Berger. "I fear for the people running elections in this state, including in your own community, that some misguided people will conclude from your statements that actions must be taken, perhaps through the use of threats or violence.”

Spokespeople for Berger, R-Rockingham, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Brinson Bell’s letter.

Berger told reporters Wednesday he was concerned about the vote-counting process in North Carolina being rigged for Democrats. His remark came after his chamber passed a bill to give Republicans more control over elections, and as a key race for a seat on the state Supreme Court underwent a recount.

The Democratic incumbent in that race, Justice Allison Riggs, appears to have won by 625 votes. But that narrow advantage — a mere fraction of the 5.5 million votes cast — was well within the margin for a recount. Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin requested one on Tuesday.

Berger indicated Wednesday that he was concerned with how Riggs won. Griffin was leading on election night by...

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