NORTH CAROLINA -- The chairman of the State Board of Elections has resigned.

Gov. Roy Cooper accepted Chairman Robert Cordle's resignation on Tuesday evening.

In the release, Cooper said:

"The resignation has been accepted and we thank Chairman Cordle for his service. The State Board of Elections needs to continue its important work without distraction to ensure the integrity of our electoral process."

This news comes after more charges were added against Leslie McCrae Dowless. He is the political operative Mark Harris hired during the election last fall.

No word if the two incidents are related.