LELAND, N.C. (WECT) - When Eliza Sloan heard her doorbell ring, she did not expect to find two women demanding to see her 100-year-old husband to prove he was alive, but that’s exactly what she says happened on a Saturday afternoon in February.

Her husband, John Sloan, is a World War II veteran. He is also a registered voter, who cast his ballot through the absentee system in North Carolina. Both Eliza and John Sloan say the visit was unexpected, and also unsettling.

“It made me feel very uncomfortable, and after they left it made me feel even more uncomfortable. I later called the NAACP and reported the incident to them,” Eliza Sloan said.

An unexpected visit

Thanks to Ring doorbell camera footage the Sloans shared with WECT, we’re able to see parts of what happened. On Feb. 12, two women are seen approaching the Sloans’ home. They ring the doorbell and Eliza Sloan answered it.

“My name is Michelle and this is Carolynn, we’re just volunteers and we’re working on voter registration records. Are you Eliza?” one of the two women asks. “We just wanted to verify you’re a voter for this home. How long have you lived here?”

Unsure of the cause for the visit, Eliza answered the women’s questions while at the door.

“She was very inquisitive about how we voted,” Eliza Sloan said.

Then, she says the conversation turned to her husband. The woman insisted on seeing John and asked to come inside to do so. Eliza Sloan obliged.

When they were inside, they once again asked to see John and when he made his way to the front of the home, they asked him questions like what his age was and if he voted by absentee ballot. After confirming he was who he said he was, the women quickly left the house and drove away.

“They did not go next door to my daughter’s house. She’s right next door and after it was over I said, “Did two people come to your house and ask you about voting?” She said no and after they left I got very nervous and I said why are they here?” Sloan said.

As for the reason why the women wanted to see John Sloan, both Eliza and John say they believe it was to confirm that he was alive.

“They didn’t say it but that’s what I’m saying,” John Sloan said. “I figured, being a World War II veteran too you know and 100 years old, they wanted to see me.”

For the Sloans, who are registered Democrats, they feel like whoever these women were with were targeting older individuals who voted by absentee in an attempt to find voter fraud from the 2020 General Election.

The idea that the presidential election was fraudulent and that former President Donald Trump actually won, despite no widespread evidence of voter fraud, has been widespread. It’s a sticking point for some politicians and has even turned into campaign fodder for candidates running in the 2022 elections.

Following the encounter, Eliza Sloan reached out to the Brunswick County Board of Elections to see if it was perhaps canvassing votes from the 2020 election.

“Brunswick County is not doing any sort of audit”

Sara LaVere, the Elections Director for Brunswick County, said she was made aware of the incident as well, but confirmed that the county was not responsible for the house call.

“Brunswick County is not doing any sort of audit, any sort of canvassing from previous elections, all of the previous elections that we have had including 2020 have been canvassed and we are complete. We are not doing any kind work on those elections anymore,” she said.

LaVere said that this was the only incident she was aware of in Brunswick County. However, she said if this happens to anyone else, she was not aware of any law or rule that would compel you to answer these questions.

As for Eliza Sloan, she says the encounter feels like an attempt at voter intimidation, and an invasion of her privacy and hopes that it does not happen to other older people living in Brunswick County.

“I hope that they will go home and tend to their business, and not intimidate older people, because most older people will not speak out, I’ve always spoken out my entire life,” she said.

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