RALEIGH -- As the 9^th district congressional race remains unsettled, Gov. Roy Cooper appointed five members to a newly created State Board of Elections.

The three Democrats appointed are Stella Anderson of Boone, Jeff Carmon III of Durham and Bob Cordle of Charlotte. The two Republicans appointed are David C. Black of Concord and Ken Raymond of Winston-Salem.

Members were chosen from nominees submitted by the state Republican and Democratic parties.

Under Session Law 2018-146, they will serve through April 30, 2023, or until successors are appointed and qualified.

The appointments come while the State Board continues to investigate absentee voting irregularities in the 9th Congressional District. The Board is expected to hold an evidentiary hearing in February to decide whether to certify a winner or to order a new election. The date of the hearing has not been set.

Republican Mark Harris currently leads Dan McCready in that race, but questions have swirled over how some absentee ballots were handled.

Also, the State Board must appoint four of the five members to each of the state’s 100 county boards of elections. Under Session Law 2018-146, the governor appoints the fifth member, who will serve as chair.

The State Board also is working to implement new voter identification requirements, which will take effect for the 2019 municipal elections, unless otherwise directed by the courts. The state’s voters added the voter ID mandate to the N.C. Constitution in the November general election. Session Law 2018-144 prescribes steps the State Board and county boards of elections must take in the coming months to implement the requirement and inform voters about it.

The State Board must evaluate new voting equipment for formal state certification so county boards may purchase new machines to replace aging ones. Also, the agency is engaged in a large-scale modernization of the statewide elections management system.

“We congratulate the new Board members and look forward to working with them to promote confidence in North Carolina elections,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, State Board executive director. “We thank them for their willingness to serve North Carolina’s voters at this critical time.”