I knew it.

Revisiting the 2016 gubernatorial election in North Carolina, those who have kept up with my writing on the topic know I was (and still am) incensed over not only the fact that North Carolina Republicans allowed a Democrat back into the governorship, but that Republican-led county election boards were dragging their feet about handling requested recounts. What’s more, the State Board of Elections was even worse, flatly refusing to investigate any of the multiple complaints of fraudulent activity with the ballots.

We lost an amazing and effective governor in Pat McCrory, and in return, got this droopy mess named Roy Cooper, who, if not for the Republican majority in the General Assembly, would likely already be well on his way to proving himself the most corrupt, incompetent governor to ever inhabit the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh (there’s still time).

Now, there seems to be a bit of supporting evidence for former Governor Pat McCrory and those who wanted to see an investigation of what felt so strongly of a corrupted vote in the state.

According to an audit released on Friday by the State Board of Elections, there were over 500 votes that they found which were cast illegally.

From the Washington Examiner:

Most of the 508 voters were active felons at the time of the election and only made up a small percentage of the total 4.8 million ballots cast. Another 24 ballots were believed to have been cast by individuals who voted multiple times.

Several things are going on here that need to be noted.

First of all, while 532 votes would not have turned the election, it is absolute proof that there was foul play in the 2016 election, just as many of us suspected. The Board of Elections dismissal of concerns of the citizens, especially in light of these new facts is nothing short of malpractice.

An audit didn’t cover every county, so if they found over 500 in an audit, a more thorough investigation would likely reveal more.

By “more,” I mean more felons voting, more people voting multiple times, more out of state voters… you name it.

Which brings me to my second point.

Weeks before the 2016 election, a liberal appeals court bent to the will of Democrats, who pushed their soft bigotry of low expectations on minorities in the Tar Heel state, and insisted that minorities had no clue how to get ID. To ask them to show ID at the voting booth was just oppressive and an attempt to stop the minority vote.

Yeah, I don’t get that one, either. The state was even willing to help those who didn’t have an ID to get ID, but for Democrats, that wasn’t acceptable, and they fought against voter ID until it was overturned by the appeals court.

If nothing else, this audit shows that there is a very real concern and that voter ID is needed to keep our elections fair and untainted.

I will never just accept that Pat McCrory lost in 2016. There really were too many complaints of fraud that were ignored or swept aside, and now this audit is proving that those complaints may have had merit.

Shame on our Board of Elections for not taking the integrity of North Carolina’s elections more seriously.

Somewhere, I hope Pat McCrory feels a bit of vindication, even if it’s bittersweet.